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The Philippines and the ICC: The Right Sort of Foreign Intervention

August 28, 2011 BenK 7 Comments

Writing in yesterdayâ€™s Manila Standard, columnist Rod Kapunan demonstrates exactly the sort of violent, misplaced nationalism that is the best reason for the Philippines to join the International Criminal Court. If I was writing this for my own blog, Iâ€™d probably call Kapunan a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy freak and an uncivilized thug, but since this…

Crime, Politics

English vs Tagalog: James Soriano owes no one any apologies

August 27, 2011 benign0 117 Comments

Whatever it was said by whoever this James Soriano is, if it is the truth about the utter lack of intellectual tools Tagalog provides its speakers, then no apologies are needed to be given to those who take offense from these words. A Manila Bulletin column published on August 24 titled “Language, learning, identity, privilege”…

Culture, Education, Media

How popularity trumps talent in most ‘contests’ nowadays

August 26, 2011 Ilda 13 Comments

Popularity contests seem to have taken a new turn in the last decade. It has become literally, just about being â€œlikedâ€. Forget about working on your talent or congeniality. Joining a contest takes less effort than that. If you have no problem with shameless self-promotion, you can win just about anything. Gone are the days…

Glitz and Glamour, Media

A Planet-Sized Sense of Foreboding

August 26, 2011August 26, 2011 BenK 3 Comments

â€œIn times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.â€ â€“ Eric Hoffer Turn on your television, or log on to the Internet, or pick up a newspaper â€“ in whatever way you get your daily news, chances are pretty good…

Culture, Society

Jose Vargas: Does ‘coming out clean’ compensate for a life of deception?

August 25, 2011 Iya-J 11 Comments

It irritates me to a great extent whenever I encounter or hear about other people in the United States stealing resources that should only belong to American Citizens. Take the case of Jose Vargas, a journalist who wrote about the Virginia Tech shooting and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for it. He came to the…

Civics, Culture, Society

Fact by consensus: are we accepting beliefs in lieu of knowledge?

August 24, 2011 benign0 21 Comments

Media spin, political slogans and catch phrases, and “majority rule”. Today, these seem to be the preferred bases for validating what we come to know about our world everyday. At the very top of the hierarchy of this flawed approach with which we validate the “knowledge” we live by is the very concept of democracy…

Culture, Media, Politics, Society

Ninoy Aquino’s assassination: Another year in the Philippines’ journey of progressive disillusionment

August 21, 2011 benign0 34 Comments

The death of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr is being commemorated today the 21st of August. The fact that this event, which happened 28 years ago today, is so revered illustrates a fundamental problematic aspect of the Filipino Condition. The issues that the Philippines faces in its journey through time — presumably towards that much aspired-for…

Crime, Development, Media

Why is it so hard for Filipinos to just obey the law?

August 19, 2011May 30, 2013 Ilda 31 Comments

What is the million-dollar question that has been haunting most Filipinos everywhere in the world? No, it’s got nothing to do with the Philippine football team, the Azkals or boxer, Manny Pacquiao. It has a lot to do with the difference in behavior of Filipinos here and abroad. It’s a question that keeps popping up…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Society