Rizal Day

Honoring The Hero with Lies

Pretender Arroyo will lead the nation today in celebrating the 110th death anniversary of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal whose death on Dec. 30, 1896 triggered the Philippine Revolution and the country’s independence from Spain two years later in 1898.

Arroyo will lead the nationwide celebration of Rizal Day through commemoration rites at the Rizal Shrine in Baguio City where the Fake Family is spending their holiday break.

On this day in 2002 Arroyo pledged in front of the monument of the national hero at the Luneta Park that she will not be a candidate for the presidency. Poor Rizal must be turning in his grave now that Arroyo is going thru the motions again of extolling him with her lies.

Peace on Earth ...

... and GOODWILL TOWARD MEN

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Deep Disappointments

Great Expectations

On this particular Sunday, December 17, 2006 the Filipino people had great expectations. On this day half a million people, nay … a million people expect to congregate at the luneta park to protest and make known their disgust and rejection of the despicableconstituent assembly that has been railroaded and shoved down the throats of all law abiding filipinos by an equally despicable house of representatives. Today the filipinos will make known the sound and fury of a long seething discontent with the administration of Gloria Arroyo. Alas! This great gathering of eagles turned into

A Gathering of Shepherds
The gathered mass of rallyist underestimated the wiles of the Pretender and her cohorts. Days before the rally, the chief of PNP threatened to arrest actors, politicians, or bishops who will deliver incendiary speeches and will charge them with sedition. The head of the military establishment displayed armaments of war that will pounce at any time to break up infiltrators and saboteurs who are expected to be throwing bombs and explosives in the middle of the motley throng. These ploys of threats and scare tactics were effective alright. No million warm bodies showed up and by police count a measly 30 thousand had garnered courage to attend the mass rally. The CBCP and other religious leaders were intimidated and fell back on their calling as shepherds of the flock, piously delivering homilies to

A Gathering of Sheep

Portrait of aToddler Dictator

DAILY TRIBUNE

Commentary

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has made backtracking, flip-flopping, back-pedaling and more as her official government policy. It is no wonder the Philippines under her regime ranks as one of the most non-descript nations in the civilized world.

Mrs. Arroyo, as a leader, has hit rock bottom not only for her lying, cheating and stealing but also for being a non-credible political persona with an instinct for dividing rather than uniting and for inflicting more damage than necessary on an already image-battered nation.

Didn’t she backtrack pathetically from sworn commitment she made to her major ally after she enthusiastically but unilaterally offered to sacrifice a handful of troops to President George Bush’s Coalition of the Willing in Iraq because she feared public opinion over the kidnappers’ attempt to behead kidnap victim Angelo de la Cruz?

Not so long ago, she promised on the death anniversary of the nation’s well-loved hero, Jose Rizal, that she wouldn’t run for president for being the single, biggest cause of divisiveness in the country, only to shamelessly break her word.

She also flip-flopped on the appointment of Adm. Mateo Mayuga to a major military post as flag-officer-in-command a year ago for some reason that remains mysterious to this day, only media criticisms got her back on track.

A week ago, she managed to greatly embarrass the nation on the world stage and to unremorsefully sidetrack the hard work of Cebu’s local officials as well as tourism operators by unilaterally canceling a major international summit even after delegates made the trip to Manila by blaming her back-pedaling on Typhoon “Seniang,” a flimsy excuse that none of the guests believes to be true because they know full well that the Arroyo government was lying, that the sordid truth is that it was in the midst of a brewing political storm of her own making

And today, after moving heaven and earth to get the House to stake its political capital on her pet Charter change project designed at perpetuating herself in power, and taking the nation to the brink of a constitutional crisis, she flip-flops, backtracks and back-pedals once again when faced with a massive public show of indignation.

Mrs. Arroyo has not changed from being a Malacañang spoiled brat as a toddler resident there; growing into adulthood has not taught her the basic niceties of social behavior; she still has not learned to treat people with respect in spite of her age, her so-called pedigree and her much bragged-about education. Actually, typical of a spoiled brat, she backs down only when she is threatened with serious spanking or when she feels she’s in danger of being booted from her favorite playground, Malacañang.

We, the Filipino people should not continue to tolerate her shameless behavior. We should not allow her to make a mockery of the civilized tradition of respect for the people. She should be booted out as soon as possible before she causes any more irreparable damage to the nation and its people.

Filipinos must finally open their eyes to this woman for what she is truly worth: Nothing. She’s greedy, she’s incompetent, she’s unreliable and she’s untrustworthy.

Anna de Brux

Belgium

Breaking Up A Rally

Esperon warns on bombers at rally

‘Biggest anti-Gloria gathering’

BY VICTOR REYES

ARMED Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon yesterday said communist and terrorist groups might sabotage the Church-led anti-charter change rally on Sunday at the Luneta.

"We want to preclude some vested forces from exploiting that rally to their own designs, meaning there are forces that could infiltrate that rally or could probably agitate after infiltration or provoke or sabotage the rally itself," Esperon said after presiding over a command conference at the headquarters of the National Capital Region Command.

Comment:

The five star general must be thinking aloud on his five star grand scheme to protect his patroness. He foresees disruption of the peaceful assembly of mass of demonstrators by infiltrators and saboteurs. Such disruption can cause a stampede and the resulting chaos can be horrible. It is a brilliant way to stop demonstrators in their tracks.

Squid Tricks

Why the rush for Con-Ass, or now
Con-con, and what’s in it for us?

Administration allies, the majority, are pushing Charter change by every imaginable means. They have succumbed to obviously desperate measures. When confronted with contentious issues, they are disturbingly belligerent and arrogant, even strangely righteous in maintaining their arguments for changing the Constitution.

Rep. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero

There is no rhyme or reason for this indecent haste to mangle this important national document. It is not like the archives where the document reposes was burned or damaged beyond legibility, or a leprechaun stole and ran away with the document, and therefore there is absolute necessity to reconstruct, amend, change, or restore the document. The rush to Con-Con give rise to suspicion of ulterior motives of the movers rather than the necessity of action.

Cha Cha, Pig, Con Ass, Con Con, are all premeditated plans to perpetuate GMA’s usurpation of power. She is not contented of stealing the elections twice – she also has delusions of an enchanted kingdom where she is queen and the filipinos are her slaves. GMA wants the world also to recognize her, and so she send her slaves to other countries, with the euphemistic appellation of super maids.

The real and immediate reason for this indecent haste of amending the constitution is to put up a façade of urgency and consequently divert the attention of the people away from the stench she created when she subverted and tharted the will of the electorate by massive cheating during the last elections. The media and even the academe swallowed her subterfuge, hook and sinker, and even the senate do not know what hit them. The religious groups were caught unawares too – they thought that congress is the culprit. Little did they suspect that all these headlong rush to amend the constitution are squid tricks to cover up the anomalies that GMA cooked up in her witches brew.

Little House on the Pasig River

JDV backs off from Con-Ass

GMA has finally realized the folly of CHA-CHA, PIg, and CON-ASS and now has unceremoniously pulled the rug under JDV. It was GMA who gave the green light to JDV to push through a unicameral legislature, despite palace circus barkers that GMA has nothing to do with it.

GMA may not have the moral fiber to rule but she has got lots of fibber. She has no respect for the pilipino people and therefore insult their intelligence constantly. She thinks that by palace pronouncements, lies will transmute to the truth.

CHA CHA and CON ASS are all staged managed facade with the main purpose of diverting the attention of the people away from the the despicable usurpation of power via massive election cheating. The media and the academe appeared to be hoodwinked by such high falutin’ rhetoric of constitutional amendments. While the media and the people are distracted and mesmerized by these high falutin’ antics, the Fake Gentleman is carting away the national treasury and depositing it in German banks.

The pretender in the palace by the murky river is playing her role to the hilt. She occupies the office to pursue her own selfish interest. The welfare of the people is as good as flowing downriver by her palace. She considers the country as her little house on the prairie – the ideal place to exploit her fantasies.

Birth of a Revolution

Bonifacio Day

The Katipunan Supremo: A Self-taught revolutionary

In August of 1896, at Pugadlawin, Kalookan, Bonifacio gathered his men and fearlessly urged them to tear up their cedulas as a symbilic gesture of their defiance of Spanish rule. Thus began, the Philippine Revolution against Spain.

A difficult childhood gave Andres the strenght to face all odds with great courage and determination. He was the eldest of six children of Catalina de Castro and Santiago Bonifacio.

At the age of fourteen, Andres was orphaned and had to taken on the task of caring for his younger brothers and sisters. To do this, he had to quit school and look for ways of supporting his family.

Together, they made rattan canes and colorful fans from Japanese paper. Even if he stopped going to school, Bonifacio continued reading the novels of Rizal and Dumas; he also read about international law and French Revolution. In later years, he too began to write about what the Filipino should know to appreciate the desire and the need to be free.

During his late teens, Andres was able to work as a clerk, then as a sales agent. later on, he became a warehouseman in Tondo.

Bonifacio and Jose Rizal were both members of La Liga Filipina, a movement working peacfully for reforms in the Philippines. However, the two national heroes never knew each other personally. When Rizal was arrested in 1892, Bonifacio realized that Spain would never grant the requested reforms. So, on the night of July 7, 1892, Bonifacio, Valentine Diaz, Deodato Arellano (brother in-law of Marcelo H. del Pilar), Teodoro Plata (Andres' brother in-law), Ladislao Diwa, and a few others secretly met in a house along Azcarraga Street (now Claro M. Recto Street) near Candelaria Street (now Elcano Street). On that night, the Katipunan was formed. The members formalized their membership by signing the pact with their own blood. In 1895, Bonifacio became the Supremo, or leader.

In the same year the Katipunan was founded, Bonifacio married Gregoria de Jesus, who chose Lakambini or muse as her codename in the Katipunan. She took charge of the confidential files, revolvers, seals, and other materials of the society.

On August 23, 1896, the katipuneros gathered secretly at the farm of Juan A. Ramos, son of Mechora Aquino, at Pugadlawin in Kalookan. The Spaniards had gotten wind of the Katipunan and deciphered its secret codes. The katipuneros are now fugitives and in great danger. Together, the katipuneros agreed to fight to the death for their cause.

"Bring out your cedulas and tear them to pieces to symbolize our determination to take up arms," Bonifacio challenged his members. The katipuneros tore up their cedulas and shouted, "Long live the Philippines." The cry at Pugadlawin signaled the start of the Philippine Revolution.

The inital plan to attack Manila did not push through due to lack of arms. Instead Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, and some others attacked the Spanish arsenal at San Juan del Monte. Bonifacio failed to anticipate the possible arrival of the Spanish reinforcement troops, who caused the Filipino's defeat.

Bonifacio and his men retreated with heavy casualties.

Bonifacio's life as a militant katipunero ended on Mount Hulog, a mountain in Maragondon, Cavite. Bonifacio and his younger brother Procopio were accused by the Spaniards of rebellion and were sentenced to die. On May 10, 1897, Mariano Noriel handed a sealed envelope to Lazaro Makapagal and instructed him to take the two Bonifacio brothers to Mount Taal. Once there Bonifacio requested Makapagal to open the envelope. In it was the order to execute both brothers. Makapagal had no recouse but to follow the command, lest he be punished severely. In doing so, he executed the Filipino who sprearheaded the Philippine Revolution against Spain.

Source: Filway's Philippine Almanac Centennial Edition

Downfall

While Bonifacio's personal campaigns were less than successful, the revolutionaries in Cavite had greater success, led by officers coming from the upper classes, including the celebrated Emilio Aguinaldo. Thus, they sent out a manifesto calling for a revolutionary government of their own, disregarding Bonifacio's leadership. A council comprising of Bonifacio's men and the Magdalo and the Magdiwang, two locally-based rival Katipunan factions, held a convention in Tejeros, Cavite to establish a unified front and settle the issue of leadership of the revolutionary movement. The Magdalo faction was led by Baldomero Aguinaldo, cousin to Emilio Aguinaldo. In the elections, the Cavitenos voted their own Emilio Aguinaldo President. Bonifacio, due to the lack of a power base in the province, was voted Director of the Interior. However, a member of the Magdalo faction, Daniel Tirona, questioned Bonifacio's qualifications for high office, declaring him uneducated and unfit for the position. Bonifacio was slighted, all the more so since he had previously asked that the results of the election be respected by all. Invoking his authority as Supremo, he threatened those in attendence with a pistol and declared the results of the Tejeros Convention as null and void and left in a rage. Later, he wrote to Jacinto about his misgivings about the whole matter, as he suspected Tirona of spreading black propaganda against him and fixing the ballots (as some other leaders also suspected). Regrouping his forces, he attempted to return to the province of Morong (now Rizal), where he had a strong base and support. Tried by a moot court 'in absentia' by the Aguinaldo faction, he was condemned as a traitor to the Revolution and given the death penalty. An arresting party of Magdalo soldiers caught up with Bonifacio in the town of Indang and a skirmish ensued, in which Bonifacio was wounded and his brother Ciriaco killed. He and his other brother, Procopio, were captured and were subsequently executed by firing squad on May 10, 1897 at Mt. Nagpatong. Co-patriots of the Revolution regarded this an ugly blot laid at Aguinaldo's door, though in fairness Aguinaldo originally wanted them banished instead.

Wedding Song

Empty Nest

Not very long ago you were born
On a halcyon day at early morn
You were a baby cradling in my arms
Oh what loveliness full of charms.

The teen years go fleetingly
Ribbons adorn your hair so lavishly
Many a swain wanted to walk you home
Go to church on Sunday with and mom.

And you came upon mr. Right
Boundless indeed was your delight
To love and cherish, say I do
Asked my blessing, god be with you.

Down the aisle, unto the altar
Long tresses, flowers were your attire
To have and to hold in sicknes and in health
To the handsome groom thee I bequeath.

The bird has grown wings and learned to fly
Together you look anxiously to the sky
To go where your mother has gone before
And make the world turn forever more.

Your siblings before you did embark
In search of fortune , their lives to start
Now it’s your turn , you are the youngest
Serenity in my abode, ‘tis an empty nest.

And so it is and will be, from young to old
Woman clings to man nonetheless bold
Fulfillment of man’s reason to be
Entrenched to a niche in eternity.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Thou shalt be honored unto Eternity

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?
21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1

3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30" Other requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin. The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror. The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe Louis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame. Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uni forms ready for guard duty. ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,

AND

LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

God Bless and keep them.

Contributed by: Eric Gruenberg

About Time

The Dawn OF A Brighter Tomorrow

THE opposition yesterday said it would file administrative and criminal charges  against government officials who participated in the "fraudulent and deceptive" People’s Initiative to amend the charter.

 

Forty-two of the 43 media persons sued for libel by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo yesterday agreed to file a suit against Atty. Arroyo for abusing his powers to file libel cases and for violating the rights of journalists.

 

   It takes a long time coming but hopefully this will be the start of redress of grievances  for people who have long persevered in having their rights and freedoms trampled upon by the fake president who claims she has the mandate of the people. The media cowed by her pretense address her PGMA – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  There is nothing presidential about a pretender, especially when the very first official act is to accept bribes from a foreign enterprise, IMPSA, which was turned down by her predecessor for the simple reason that it is dirty money. Pretender Arroyo got no qualms about dirty money – it is money, period.

 

   The Ombudsperson should actually be very busy pursuing cases of theft and malversation of funds, if she puts her mind to it. As it is, she is apparently asleep on the job, and if she is not, she is off to a junket to Germany, like there were nothing else  better to do. This is an odious anomaly at a great expense of the people.  The office of the Ombudsperson  is an independent entity, according to its official function.  Fact is, it is linked to malacanang by un umbellical cord. It is an insult to the intelligence of the people.

On This Day

Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks we live in America, land of the free, home of the brave, where the media's elite journalists can leak top-secret information with impunity, win Pulitzer Prizes, cash in on lucrative book deals, routinely insult their readership and viewership, broadcast enemy propaganda, turn a blind eye to the victims of jihad, and cast themselves as oppressed victims on six-figure salaries.

Michelle Malkin

Give thanks we do not live in the Philippines where glueria has preempted the rule of law, unleashing her lapdogs and thus having a field day kidnapping and gunning down dissenting activist, where the court dockets are clogged with libel cases against welll meaning journalists who refuse to be cowed to silence, where the palace by the murky river is becoming a black hole for pork barrels, where the senate and the supreme court will soon go the way of the dinosaurs … to extinction.

Gob bless the United States of America.

Dose Of His Own Medicine

Journalists to sue Arroyo’s husband
Posted: 21 Nov 2006 12:47 AM CST
The following article by Raissa Robles is in today’s issue of the Hongkong-based South China Morning Post.

Dozens of Philippines journalists are playing first gentleman Mike Arroyo at his own game, filing a class-action lawsuit against the president’s litigious husband.



University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque, who prepared the petition, said all but one of the 43 journalists being sued for libel by Mr Arroyo had agreed to sign up to the lawsuit.

The suit claims Mr Arroyo breached their rights under the civil code, and will seek cash damages.



“When he sued the 43 journalists, it was Mr Arroyo’s intention in fact to chill the freedom of the press,” Professor Roque said.

The high number of libel suits filed by Mr Arroyo showed “it is not only an act directly against specific individuals but an act directed to intimidate the entire profession”.

Mr Arroyo’s lawyer, Ruy Rondain, said “really?”, and started laughing. “I can’t imagine what course of action they might have against him because he hasn’t done anything that violates any of their civil, political or criminal rights.”

But the sued journalists said they were serious about standing up for press freedom. Mr Roque said the 42 litigants would publicly sign the petition tomorrow and it would be filed next week.

Other journalists who have no pending libel cases against them by Mr Arroyo were also expected to sign up.

ABS-CBN journalist Ricky Carandang said he was signing up as “I think Mr Arroyo’s actions have gone beyond that of an aggrieved person seeking redress [and] they are trying to redefine libel.”

Mr Carandang was business editor at Newsbreak when it printed an article alleging the first family hid assets in the United States.

Newsbreak editor-in-chief Marites Vitug confirmed she and six other staff members of the investigative news magazine who have pending libel suits would join in.

“We really want to make a statement that the first gentleman is using libel not reasonably but to … stop reporting about him,” she said.

Professor Roque called the planned suit “unprecedented”. He said they intended to make Mr Arroyo “liable for damages” for violating the Philippines Civil Code.

Its Article 32, in particular, makes “any public officer or employee, or any private individual” liable for damages if he “directly or indirectly obstructs, defeats, violates or in any manner impedes or impairs any of the following rights and liberties of another person [including the] freedom to write for the press or maintain a periodical publication”, Professor Roque said.

Mr Rondain said: “I can’t imagine” such grounds for a suit. I’m still laughing.

*** It is about time for the journalists to say:”enough is enough!” – aloud, that is. All this time, they are seething inside for lack of a champion to voice their dissent. Now that they have Professor Harry Roque as their knight in shining armor, they should be more vocal in exercising their press freedom, oblivious the husband of Arroyo.

Miguel Arroyo is a bully throwing his weight around. Bullies thrive on fear. Once the fear dissipates and the journalists go tit for tat, Arroyo would go slinking with tails wrapped around his legs. He has no business curtailing the freedom of the press, much less, being frivolous filing all those libel suits.

True Friends

Embittered Insiders Turn Against Bush

By Peter Baker

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 19, 2006

The weekend after the statue of Saddam Hussein fell, Kenneth Adelman and a couple of other promoters of the Iraq war gathered at Vice President Cheney's residence to celebrate. The invasion had been the "cakewalk" Adelman predicted. Cheney and his guests raised their glasses, toasting President Bush and victory. "It was a euphoric moment," Adelman recalled.

Forty-three months later, the cakewalk looks more like a death march, and Adelman has broken with the Bush team. He had an angry falling-out with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this fall. He and Cheney are no longer on speaking terms. And he believes that "the president  is ultimately responsible" for what Adelman now calls "the debacle that was Iraq."

Adelman, a former Reagan administration official and onetime member of the Iraq war brain trust, is only the latest voice from inside the Bush circle to speak out against the president or his policies. Heading into the final chapter of his presidency, fresh from the sting of a midterm election defeat, Bush finds himself with fewer and fewer friends. Some of the strongest supporters of the war have grown disenchanted, former insiders are registering public dissent and Republicans on Capitol Hill blame him for losing Congress.

A certain weary crankiness sets in with any administration after six years. By this point in Bill Clinton's tenure, bitter Democrats were competing to denounce his behavior with an intern even as they were trying to fight off his impeachment. Ronald Reagan was deep in the throes of the Iran-contra scandal. But Bush's strained relations with erstwhile friends and allies take on an extra edge of bitterness amid the dashed hopes of the Iraq venture.

 

 

Comment: You will know your true friends in times of adversity.

 

Hell Hath No Fury?

House Democrats Name Hoyer to No. 2 Post

By ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats picked Rep. Steny Hoyer to be House majority leader on Thursday, spurning Rep. Nancy Pelosi's handpicked choice moments after unanimously backing her election as speaker when Congress convenes in January.


Hoyer humiliates Pelosi, defeats Murtha, 149-86
Update: Unless there was some eleventh-hour shift to Hoyer — which is unlikely, considering that 90 Democrats had already publicly committed to him yesterday — then Murtha lied to Matthews’s face on Hardball yesterday.

Michelle Malkin tells How the Democrats "clean house"
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/006373.htm
My woman-to-woman advice for Nancy Pelosi today: To clean a house, you take the garbage out, not in.

It is beginning to look like the Dems are not the sweet smelling rose after all, as presented to the US electorate. The stench is beginning to reek this early. Majority leader Harry Reid is beginning to see the Abramoff submarine resurface with this name on it. And will Nancy Pelosi exhibit the fury of a woman scorned?

Bush in Singapore

Bush Seeks to Reassure Allies on Trade
By TERENCE HUNT
SINGAPORE (AP) - President Bush is seeking to reassure nervous Asian allies that the United States will remain a reliable partner in liberalizing trade, confronting North Korea's nuclear threat and fighting terrorism after an election upheaval back home.

...........

It is interesting to note that nowhere in this news write-up was the Philippines nor Arroyo mentioned or even inferred. Gloria claims the US as partners against terrorism, not equal but insignificant partner, by all looks and apperances. The That is what body english of this report seem to impart.

It is not far fetched to expect that Arroyo spinmasters will claim a 'one-on-one' audience of Arroyo with Dubya. The US embassy in Manila will certainly be regaled by these efforts 'propping' up Arroyo to see eye to eye with Dubya.

Incoming Majority Leader

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Reid's no-nonsense, plainspoken style reflects his origins, growing up in a cabin in the tiny community of Searchlight, Nev. Once an amateur boxer and an official fighting organized crime in his home state, he won a House seat in 1982 and four years later moved to the Senate. Reid, 66, served as former Democratic leader Tom Daschle's deputy for six years until Daschle lost his re-election bid in 2004. Since becoming Democratic leader in 2005, Reid has continued to fight for Democratic causes such as an increase in the minimum wage and opposition to President Bush's tax cuts. But, as a practicing Mormon, he has also at times sided with Republicans on legislation opposing abortion.

The US Elections

The recent US midterm elections went thru without a hitch. The winners were ecstatic and the losers reflected on what went wrong. The conduct of the elections went so smoothly that it did not cause even a ripple of protestation from any quarters. That is the beauty of americana that is hardly discernible unless viewed against the backdrop of elections of other countries.

The elections in the Philippines is a study of contrasts. There was massive cheating at the polling places , at the comelec, and at the electoral tribunal or the congress. Vote counting is an exercise of adding votes to the favored candidate and diminishing count of the unlucky one. Who determines the lucky candidate is usually the incumbent at the top of the heirachcy, manipulating the process with the use of the military and the police. The unfavored candidate has only a chinaman's chance of winning, and if he does win, end up dead in the back alleys somewhere. There is nothing salient about the electoral process in the Philippines except the fact that whoever is the incumbent dictates the manner that process is executed. That essentially defines dictators. The Philippines prides itself as a democracy - dictator democracy, that is.

Starlight

I can see starlight inyour eyes
From beyond eternity, piercing my soul
I can feel the warmth of your brown eyes
Radiating comfort from that limpid pool.

Many a time I wish to deny
The churning emotions of my heart
Alas they come back always on a sly
Deeply entrenched, never to depart.

How can I love thee, fairy by the mist?
Beauty in the flesh,untouchable like a dream
With laughter and smiles, surely you exist
But how can I hold thee, lovely moonbeam?

Let me just indulge in imagery
Enshrine such beauty in a niche
This love that was never meant to be
Forever yearning, always out of reach.

For as long as the waves lap the shores
And this heart of mine gallops
I shall worship thine gaiety and mores
With exuberance and full of hopes.

Hello World ...

This is the beginning, I hope
To join bloggers in the loop
Like a bird just learning to fly
Spread my wings , search the sky.