Chopsuey Nation

Facing The Eye of The Storm

2006-09-28T22:52:00.001-07:00

To everyone who experienced storm Milenyo's (Xangsane) wrath on Thursday and survived, I salute you.

I was eager to go home when work was suspended and lo and behold I got caught right within the eye of the storm. Me and hundreds of others trying to flee the violent gusts with a mixture of rains and flying debri of all sorts.

Trees were uprooted, glasses were shattered, billboards went down, and housing roofs flew out.

After two hours or so of it all, the skies cleared and we behold the real amount of destruction. There have been minimal casualty, thank God. The whole of Luzon island went blackout for over 24 hours.

It was an experience, I have to say. I wouldn't have preferred being inside the house and simply listening as it all happened. Braving the storm was something.

And after the storm comes the cleanup and rebuilding. Hopefully all government and private sectors will pull their resources together and do what must be done. Hopefully political bickering will take a rest for at least a week until the mess are settled.

Hopefully no one will take advantage of this calamity.

Hopefully...

(click the image for more photos :D courtesy of my friend Apol's Nokia fone.)

That Circus Called Impeachment Hearing

2006-08-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness it only took 17 hours.

Allan Peter Cayetano once again tried to over-extend his 15 minutes of fame grumbling and grabbing whatever camera time he can horde.

Whining about a German dollar account (what, not euro?) the first family has and proudly annoucing the bank account number.

Yeah right. Even the village idiot won't buy that. That a highly secured European bank would galdly give him details of an account. Sure, and Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Ok, another impeachment hooplah shoved down our throats. Why do they insist that that's what the people want. I didn't want that. My friends didn't want that. That poor guy selling cigarettes on the streets don't want that.

What we all want is for these mongrels at the House and Senate to work their asses off so we can have basic services given to us as we all deserve. What we want are laws passed so we can build more roads, schools, infrastructure so businesses will grow. So millions of employment will be created. So our children will have education.

Damn it, we're so tired of these grandstanding. So tired of the few insisting they represent the will of the people.

Dinky Soliman says those who voted to kill the impeachment weren't working for the people. Sure, like pushing the economy to the ground with political instability is working for the people.

They seek for a truth that will serve their own interests. What we, the people, want is for everyone to move on and work together for the sake of our progress as a nation.

Gloria Arroyo is not a saint. But I would vote for her government over Joseph Estrada's, Cory Aquino's, and Ferdinand Marcos'. You always claim Filpinos have very short memory, well who's to blame for that?

Erap dragged this country into banckrupcy and now you want his minions to rule us again? Whoever says yes deserves a hard wanking in the head!

Kudos to Ana Marie Pamintuan of Phil. Star for this very rational insight:

"For all the public displays of piety by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Filipinos know or suspect that the President is a child of dirty Philippine politics.

Her strength is that everyone aspiring to replace her is tainted by the same public perception. There are no saints in this country. No one at the House bothered to give a clear picture of what would come next in case the impeachment prospered and the President got the boot.

Long frustrated by the national leadership, Filipinos have decided to go along for now with the devil they know. Congressmen sensed this, and an even greater number voted to kill the impeachment.

The President owes the people big time. Now the people await payback. "

What The Hell Exactly Is Porn Outsourcing?!!

2006-08-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

Last time I checked, porn is still illegal in the country.

But this article from CNET News seem to imply that it's not. Anyone from our semi-functioning government know about this????

Porn makes Philippines, not India, the choice for video outsourcing

Video web sites, like everyone else these days, are looking for places to offshore some business functions. For DaveTV, a start-up founded by Rex Wong, it's the Philippines. The company, which hopes to mix contest in with the usual fare submitted by users, has hired people in that nation to watch videos so they can be categorized and, if necessary, screened out.

Why the Philippines? "Porn is illegal in India," he said. Thus, outsourcing there could lead to inadvertent legal problems.

DaveTV is also looking at ways to insert ads into video and allow individuals to more easily publish videos. Wong founded Applied Semantics which Google bought for over $100 million in 2003. The technology is now a crucial part of AdSense.

The Day After SONA

2006-07-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

So ayun. The leader of the land came and got it over with.

And as expected all her political critics were hounded by the retarded media for reactions, which they have been practicing in front of their mirrors all weekend.

It's grandstanding, all lies, puro promises, she lives in fairy land, etc. etc. My personal favorite was Ping Lacson's rhetoric: 'She's Alice in wonderland!'

Weheheheh. I couldn't help but laugh at all these. People are texting their favorite radio commentators (are they called that because all they do is make comments?) about their opinions thinking they actually matter to the survival of this nation.

Wala na bang magbabago sa Pilipinas? We are a nation of reactors. Pag may sinabi ang isa kelangan may sasagot. In other discipline you may call that a debate. But here in the Philippine banana republic, many simply like to hear themselves talk.

The problem is not even half of their brains are functioning, thus, every statement they utter are clear stench of stupidity. Na nakakahawa. Stupidity is a communicable disease, and the media is the major culprit at spreading this deadly illness.

The government is not just the president. Those politicians who have nothing better to do but invent a rebuttal are also part of this semi-functioning government. So what part are they playing in saving this country from poverty and disgrace?

And as a Filipino, what are you doing to make your life and other people's lives more liveable? Are you a doer, a spectator, or you're simply waiting for manna from heaven.

Only you can help yourself. Change should start with you.

The Real Philippine State of the Nation - The Top 10 List

2006-07-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

Amando Doronilla's article on the Inquirer suggests, Why not abolish the Sona?

Why not, indeed?

On Monday, President Gloria Arroyo delivers her State of the Nation Address (Sona). Her administration, like the past administrations, has been plagued with accusations of fraud and corruption. As in the past administrations destabilizations, coup attempts, and opposing political factions launching self-serving anti-government campaigns with the endless theme: "para sa bayan".

In truth, the real state of the nation can be summed up in a very short list:

1. Our government officials -- executive, legislative, and the countless departments -- are all involved in massive corruption. No one is clean. Yet they keep pointing fingers at one another because "ang magnanakaw galit sa kapwa magnanakaw."

2. The opposition hates the administration because they're envious of the bigger 'payola' the latter gets from under the table dealings.

3. Thus they tirelessly launch offensives to oust whoever is in power so they can have the bigger share of the money pie.

4. The Filipino people couldn't care less who takes the presidency. As long as they're not members of the Marcos cronies, Erap's mob, and the pinilakang tabing (showbiz industry).

5. Poor Filipinos continue to suffer because the politicians they voted into power would rather engage in televised "fault-finding committee hearings" instead of passing laws that will award them important free basic services.

6. Contrary to popular belief, the 'masa' have no power to install or topple a government. It's the middle class who decides.

7. Although thousands of OFWs contribute hugely to our national budget, it is the Filipino workers working here at home who keep the economy going 365 days a year with our taxes and spendings.

8. Catholic bishops here cling to the mentality that Filipinos need their guidance to decide poltically, morally, and ethically.

9. 95% of the Philippine media are stupid.

10. The Communist Party of the Philippines cling to the hallucination that they still matter.

Some people tell me this country is hopeless. But I disagree. I believe the silent majority of Filipinos still hold rational reasoning, which overpowers the few nincompoop media whores attempting to turn this country into a quagmire.

30,000 Pinoys in Lebanon Caught In Middle East Conflict

2006-07-20T00:27:00.000-07:00

Proving once again that Pinoys are everywhere.

In a BBC report about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanon, where the latter is slowly being shred to tiny little pieces, 30,000 documented Filipinos are trapped in what is now clear as an open war.

According to stats gathered by the British network, top foreign nationals in Lebanon are:

Canada: 40,000

Philippines: 30,000

Australia: 25,000

US: 25,000

UK: 22,000 (inc. 10,000 with dual nationality)

France: 20,000

Yes you read it right, Filipinos are the second largest number of expats living and working peacefully in Lebanon before all this shit began.

The Inquirer, however, reported today that some 200 Pinoy workers are on their way to Damascus to escape the bombings.

I myself wanted to visit Beirut because of the budding tourism industry and for a taste of Kahlil Gibran's history. But now, those things the Lebanese tried to rebuild after Israel's withdrawal some years back have been shattered by the continuous bombings.

Can't help but wonder if they will get back on their feet again. This is such a widescale human tragedy.

Amid all these news about "great big wars in little places", I wish Filipinos will learn to appreciate what they have instead of always whining about what they don't own. Like stop blaming the government or everyone else for their misfortunes for starters.

Just imagine all those poor civilians in Iraq and Lebanon and wonder how they survive their day to day existence.