HIGHER STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Some of you might have noticed that I deleted a post. That is in no way to be confused that I’m backing out of what I’ve posted then. I stand by what I said then, it’s just that I feel that I’ve already conveyed what should be conveyed. The truth is, it really is the truth. so as the very old adage goes… bato, bato sa langit, ang tinamaan, GUILTY.

I’m always saying live and let live, so here it is. Still and again, I stand by what I posted then, hell or high water.

How I survived Last Thursday’s Traffic Nightmare

NOTE: Paragraphs in italics like this is me talking to myself

ANOTHER NOTE:  Travel time from Southwoods to Manila is 40 minutes

I received the call at around 3:00pm, Thursday. I have to be at SSCGI at 8:00am the next day.  It has been raining since morning on that fateful day.  If I hadn’t received that call for the interview, I would’ve cooked Sinigang sa miso. Everyone just loves the taste of a hot piping soup on a very wet evening. But the call came and it was for a Systems Analyst position and if you’re familiar with my industry, it’s just one of those calls that you’ll really have to take. The sinigang would have to wait.

The rains have been falling indefinitely the past few days before that call. I was thinking, instead that I wake up very early the next day to anticipate the traffic, I just spend the night at Vito Cruz, have a good night sleep and wake up not so early on Friday. So there I was, at a quarter past five after the rains has stopped I drove myself to Manila for my good night sleep to prep myself for the interview.

WRONG FUCKING MOVE! The drive from Southwoods exit was normal I thought, traffic was moderate and I thought it was because of the construction to widen the SLEX…

There was this sign that has bothering me for months now.  It goes like ‘sorry for the inconvenience blah, blah shit.’ Now, we still pay 73PHP from Southwood to Nichols exit and that was when the state of the SLEX was in dire need of rehabilitation. That was then and that is what we still pay now that it is being rehabilitated, widened etc. Indulge me on this: since the SLEX is being widened and we cannot make full use of the SLEX because detours abound everywhere to pave for the widening, are we getting our money’s worth?

What am I driving at? Keep that McDonald’s drive-thru in mind and the SLEX, We are being served by SLEX management a single burger patty for the price of a double cheeseburger. Is it not but fair that in the course of the widening of the SLEX, they slash toll fees, of let’s say, at least half. Then they just collect the normal toll rates or adjusted rates after the SLEX is completed. I see many people whining that they didn’t get their money’s worth with some commodities they bought or even arguing that some items they would want to buy are overpriced. Can’t we as consumers apply that same rule with the SLEX?

…continuing that wrong fucking move, the traffic after Alabang exit was light, it was not until Sucat exit that traffic is sometimes in a standstill. Again, I thought it was due to the ramp going to Skyway and I know traffic will be a whole lot lighter once I pass that chokepoint.  WRONG AGAIN! After Bicutan exit was a nightmare to any driver. After that 1 ½ hour drive from Southwoods to Bicutan, I was the victim of a ’two-hour –snail pace’ from Bicutan up to the off ramp to C-5. I was at the leftmost lane and this is the point when almost every driver got out of their vehicles to stretch.

All vehicles, mine included that’s on the way to Nichols exit were stuck. I heard a couple of truck drivers saying that Espana was flooded. And then I began to think at first that it’s impossible that a flooded street so many kilometers away could be the cause of the traffic jam. But then again, with the sorry state of the Philippines especially our state in governance, it is possible that Espana is the real reason for the traffic jam…

Damn the MMDA, which is one prime example of ignorance in governance, of course besides the executive branch of government. I think most of us would agree that those U-turn slots are but a highway for stupidity. With streets as narrow as the streets in Manila with the exception of EDSA, Commonwealth and the like, whoever thought of those U-turn slots is the king of stupidity, stupid enough, err, more than enough to think that he will be elected in 2010 by plastering his face all over EDSA, if ever there would be a transition of power on that year anyway.

…continuing the possibility that Espana is the reason for the jam. There’s this car who asked a truck driver if he could move his truck little so that he could squeeze his car and get onto the C-5 ramp. I followed suit. I made a 180-degree turn, going against the flow of traffic and there I was on the C-5 ramp, fist raised, shouting, ‘yahoo! Yahoo!’ I made my way thru the The Fort onto the Buendia fly-over. And just as everything was going smoothly, disaster again struck and I was again stuck, this time at the intersection of Buendia-Ayala. Another hour has passed, I decided I maneuver myself to Ayala ave. and make my way to EDSA straight to Roxas blvd.

NICE MOVE! Though there were ‘pocket traffic-standstills,’ I finally arrived at Vito Cruz. After that five-hour traffic marathon, I have no energy left to curse; I slept without taking a much-needed shower. If you were in my place, how could you? I could’ve made my way to Baguio, had coffee and checked myself in a modest hotel with that damn travel time.

That Friday morning, I had no plans of driving myself to the interview, and as it turns out, according to the cab-driver Buendia was heavily flooded that night and it wasn’t until 1:00am when the floodwaters subsided. All those detours I made really mattered and what a relief, I said to myself.

Now that monstrous traffic ordeal got me thinking, it’s either I bought myself a helicopter or a motorcycle to avoid another gargantuan traffic mess. I already have a Mio, but motorcycles below 400cc aren’t allowed to use the expressways. I sure can’t save up for a helicopter. So I have no choice. I’m getting myself a Ducati Monster. Because after the rain really comes the sun and with it the rainbow AND the pot of gold.

I GOT THE JOB!

Remedies to get SMSD working in your iPhone.
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…because sometimes the mind gets lost
…feed your mind
http://braincompass.blogspot.com/

A few days ago I bear witness to Lozada’s former
employee, Erwin Santos’ testimony of graft practices being done with
his knowledge and compliance by no other than Lozada himself. It was
broadcasted over the government’s NBN station. It was what I totally
expect in a demolition job except there was overkill because they had
Santos break down into tears a la Lozada when he was testifying in the
senate. It was that overkill that killed it all for that damning but
untruthful testimony.

Lozada already admitted being involved in
graft practices when he was in government service and that those
practices are ones that he cannot be proud of with. It was Miriam
Santiago who had all the documents furnished to her by maybe
powers-that-be of all the anomalous acts Lozada committed while
president of Phil Forest who first brought to all of it to light.
Lozada: Mea culpa!

How do we get witnesses to plunder or
organized crime? We build cases. We stake-out. We persuade the very
ones who knows the inner working of a syndicate to rat on their
superiors offering them immunity or a lesser sentence. Take the case of
Singson for example, though his frustrated whacking was the very reason
for his testifying against Estrada, still, being a member of the
midnight cabinet who is deemed very close to Estrada then, he knows who
buffers who and who buttons who. Now where can you find a better
witness than that?

Take note of one of GMA’s friend who
undermines Lozada’s truth because according to her, how can you believe
anyone who admits that he himself committed anomalous acts? That
question in itself fortified Lozada’s testimony. Lozada is more
believable because he acted as an adviser; he was tasked to ‘moderate
the greed’ as if greed now is almost a virtue. It was to be expected
though because at the grass root levels of the Filipino society, greed
is already in exercise. You don’t believe me? Try researching about the
Sangguniang Kabataan and you’ll know what I’m driving at.

It
doesn’t take one to be a genius to know that this sort of demolition
job on Lozada is just what it is—a demolition job. Anything that can be
used to discredit Lozada’s testimony is bound to be unearthed and
seeing how this government magically produced a million votes in the
last elections we can also expect this government in the event of not
finding anything they can use against Lozada to manufacture one. Well,
here we have one, Santos’ tearful yet very unbelievable testimony.

It
disgusts me as it should disgust anyone else how this government thinks
that they can discredit Lozada in the eyes of everyone by producing a
nemesis which also cries. Is this how this government thinks how
imbecile our IQs are? Is this how this government thinks they can get
away with it all? There’s Lozada and they produce a Santos. Sick! I
need not elaborate more on how to discern the blatant spat on our
faces. I need not tell you anymore why this blow is one way below the
belt. Its right in front of your face and it fucking insults my and
your goddam intelligence.

It boggles the mind that there are
still who believes in GMA. It amazes me that the cabinet is not
resigning amidst this latest brouhaha. Perhaps they’re thinking when
you’re in power you want it to stay that way no matter what. I grew up
in a traditionalist family where the legacy is more important than
anything else. So this is the legacy that GMA and her minions would
want to impart to the history books. A cabal of thieves, murderers,
cheats and plunderers who are so intoxicated with the power they wield
that they see no end to it. Well, we as a nation who thinks otherwise
should make it that they see the end of it. I remember Richard telling
Daffy in The Beach something Daffy pondered on and then committed
suicide and that is how I’m tuning my final note. No offense and all,
but if you still believe what GMA and her government has to say, you’re
fucked in the head.

It’s been a while since I got glued to the television for a day. I accomplished nothing the other day being in front of the TV all the time. I have no idea why but it just came naturally for me that I have to watch Lozada’ testimony being clarified by the senators and GMA’s men’s lies being “difficult to clarify” as Lozada smartly puts it. It’s quite easy to judge who is telling lies from the proceedings seeing how each resource person answered the questions hurled at them by the senators. Putting all subjectivity aside let me analyze again why in my opinion or anyone else who has a functional brain knows that what Lozada is telling is the truth. And since all the fake president’s men ganged-up on Lozada’s testimony I’ll scrutinize their ‘truths,’ Lozada’s truths and the real truths. In this country where truths tend to be true only when it benefits the fake president, truths now come in a chronological order. Maybe I can squeeze back some sense into everyone’s mind that the truth is the only truth, one truth and nothing else.

I’ll approach this simple. So simple that even a child would understand. Simple enough that anyone who has common sense would know. Lozada attested that he was held against his will when he arrived from the airport. He narrated how Mascarinas and the gang that includes Atutubo gave him the VIP treatment and how they drove him around against his will, again as a VIP. Atienza, Razon and the rest of the gang are in chorus that it was at the request of Lozada that he be given security and protection and the VIP treatment is at the behest of Lozada’s fear for his life. Now what is wrong with the said equation? It is the fact that Lozada DID NOT ask for it. He vehemently denies that it is the kind of security he needs. It is the fact that in VIP situations, you order the men who are treating you as a VIP where you want to go; what you want to do and when do you want to go home. In Lozada’s VIP situation, it was the exact opposite. Call it as you may but for me, when you are held against your will automatically translates to kidnapping. It is the absence of freedom without a jail sentence that makes a kidnapping a kidnapping. Common sense would dictate that Lozada was kidnapped. Ah, common sense, in the age of the fake president, it seems that it is not so common after all.

Here comes Bautista the lawyer, who he claims is Lozada’s lawyer. But then there’s a catch—Lozada has no idea that he hired Bautista the lawyer. I’ll save up on my fingertips and just let your common sense which is rare nowadays to analyze what is, again wrong with that. Bautista the lawyer came to the senate all fired-up. He even cited his former clients; the books he authored and his numerous accomplishments on national TV. I’m not being biased, but seeing how the senators grilled him afterwards was bliss. I’m no fan of Lacson but I had a smile from ear to ear when he sarcastically praised Bautista the lawyer for being an expert when it comes to the law. Bautista the lawyer’s claim is that Lozada asked him to prepare an affidavit for him so that it would his ‘guide’ when he testifies at the senate. My answer, two words rolled into one—bull and shit, BULLSHIT. Bautista the lawyer’s legalese of a third party involved in hiring him is also a lot of bull. To surmise it up, Bautista the lawyer was successful in his appearance at the senate—he succeeded in making an ass out of himself.

Atienza, another GMA henchman, claims that Lozada feared for his life so he arranged for his security hence the VIP treatment. But as Lozada’s words put it as to what Atienza said to him when he was allowed to make his trip back home “ok na, dumaan ka lang sa immigration hindi ka na nila i-hohold.” Now from Lozada’s story and also from the admittance of the VIP entourage, Lozada never passed thru at the immigration. He was whisked away from the tube. It’s clear proof that the VIP entourage was not the security or the planned reentry plan for Lozada if there really was a plan or arranged security in the first place.

But what struck me like a bolt of lightning was Joker Arroyo. I knew beforehand that he was an administration senator. But I fondly remember his role in the impeachment trial of Estrada. I admired the guy then however I lost all that admiration the minute he blew his top when he himself opened the can of worms when his wife was mentioned. My dear senator should I remind you that you were the one that said Lozada favors some senators and favors some TV stations? Lozada just tried to prove to you that he did not favor just some. But then you cut him off, imposing yourself to be high and mighty being a senator. You remind me of a professor when corrected by student, refuses to admit his mistake and instead maintains the incorrect information resulting in misinformed students who would probably be elected like you at the senate.

The PNP is bragging that they succeeded in their mission to protect Lozada because he is alive and well. But that is just what they have to do. If Lozada was made ala Dacer then that would be a bigger liability for the age of the fake president. It would have sparked the revolution overnight. Lozada needs to be alive but singing the tale that he was not abducted and protecting the NBN project. That is the reason for the affidavit. That is the reason for the debriefing via VIP treatment. This government cannot afford the death of Lozada. They thought they have everything in the bag after that mafia-style coercion of Lozada; it just goes to show that nothing is really for sure in this world. And we have to thank Lozada for that.

It bothers me how the state is using the legitimate resources of the state against a hapless citizen who only wants to tell the truth. Unimaginable as it may seem but you have the upper echelons of the government involved in this conspiracy. The PNP top-brass; the airport heads; E.S. and Ma’am; and the DENR. Their appearance in the senate proved what they want to disprove, that there really is a conspiracy. All the fake president’s men would really take the fall for their Ma’am. And I’ll be not surprised if there will be resignations in weeks to come just to appease the public clamor to oust the fake president. Heads will roll but the fake head of state would sacrifice everyone around her just as long as it is not her head on a spit.  Plus, expect a demolition job on Lozada. That is how a conspiracy works especially when it is the very government who has sworn to protect its citizenry is at the helm of it all.

The senate investigation for me is but a spark. We have to work with it. If it continues for too long then Lozada’s testimony would be all for naught and everything will soon be forgotten and the public will soon grow tired of watching it. And seeing how we have decayed with our morals when it comes to the shocking scandals Malacanang is involved with. We might again sweep all of this under the rag. And once again, evil succeeded because the good men did nothing or just tried to make a living or went to school. I believe Friday is D-day at Makati. Let me paraphrase the Makati Business Club’s statement. If a little economic instability is the price we pay for good governance then we should pay that price, the Filipinos, after all have shown that they can rise again no matter what as long as we have the truth on our side.

This is me in a very nasty, nasty hangover! HOY! HOY! HOY!

Tayo na halika Isalin mo na serbesa Ilabas mo na yang mesa   E baso bote o tasa hoy! Bumili ka na ba ng yelo  Luto na ba yang puchero  Ng tyuhin mo na bumbero At tatay mo na kutsero Ipasa mo nayang tagay Marami naka antabay Na humahaba na hanay Ang maga Na meron pang makipag away Ng alang-alang sa alak Na parabang naka batak Hindi yan naka tapak Ng mga utak na may lamat   Tulad nito siguro si bruno matigas ang ulo Hindi mo na mapipigil humalik sa bote o baso   Pag may nag kaka siyahan At may nagkaka tugtugan Hindi mo na mapigilan habang nag kakalasingan Sige na umuwi kalasing kana Na sumusuka pa   Teka bakit umiikot ang yong mga mata Sino bang may sabing uminom ka ng labing lima Hindi karin naman pala tanga!

And I’m never gonna drink again. Not meaning without a hangover like this. HOY!
Gloc 9: either hate him or love him. nyahahaha XD

Why was the NPC mural with the theme of ‘Press
Freedom’ censored? Who stands to benefit from its defiling? I’m going
to take time to analyze the edited parts of the mural.

1. The
erasure of a big portion of the newspaper held by the central figure,
containing the statement of the International Federation of Journalists
regarding the perceived effects of the anti-terror law on press
freedom, and replaced by a hideous bird-monster in a cage.

If
you’re wondering why anti-terror laws can have adverse effect of press
freedom, take these as an example: it criminalizes the sowing and
creation of “widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the
populace, in order to coerce the government to give in to the unlawful
demand;” and it allows punishment for “conspiracy to commit terrorism.”
In a country like ours where trumped-up drug charges are abundant as
hooligans in the PNP, those two points in quotes can easily be used to
curb dissenting speech. Even the editorial or an opinion article in a
daily can warrant surveillance. Simply put, an idealistic journalist is
branded a terrorist by powers-that-be.

They thought the bird in
a cage replacement in the censored version may suffice as it may well
imply “ibon man may layang lumipad.” It is their own wishful thinking
that they can fly away with such a despicable edit. Since Erap’s
downfall, most of those who think already know the caged truth of our
existence. In this case, it is just as disgusting as it should be very
disgusting to see a caged bird instead of the statement of the IFJ.

2.
The alteration of the headline of the newspaper Jose Rizal is holding
from “Press Freedom Fighter’s Son Abducted” to “Press Freedom Fight is
on” and the defacement of Jonas and Edith Burgos’s pictures as well as
the erasure of Jonas’s name.

Who is Jonas Burgos? Who the hell
are the Burgos’ anyway? Jonas is the son of the late newspaper
publisher, Joe Burgos. Jonas by the way is an agriculturist who
provided technical training to leftwing farmers and made the famous
quote “I am just an activist” when he was being whisked away by
suspected military personnel.
 
If this abduction isn’t
reminiscent of the extra-judicial kidnappings and killings of the
Marcos-era then I insist that you have no idea of the Marcos-era. An
activist being kidnapped by activists doesn’t make any sense at all,
however, an activist being whisked away by the military makes some
sense. Press freedom fight pales in comparison when you read abduction
in bold letters imprinted on the front page of a newspaper.

3.   The change of the tattoo on Andres Bonifacio’s left arm from the alibata “K” to a sappy red heart pierced by an arrow.

Why would a symbol of the Katipunan be censored? Andres Bonifacio is a
hero. Many would protest that I would nominate him to be the national
one for the reason that he took to arms and fought oppression head on.
The conspiracy-sense in me tingles at the thought that Jose Rizal was
installed as the national hero for the very purpose of aligning the
psyche of Filipinos to how Jose Rizal fought oppression. But that’s
just me. The alibata on Bonifacio’s arm, how leftist it maybe to the
narrow-headed paranoid mind is a symbol of him and the Katipunan and
defiling it with a sappy heart found on most arms of inmates is an
abomination of the extreme kind.

4.     The erasure of the name of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines from the banners of the rallyists.

Is it because the NUJP is the one in reality at the forefront of press
freedom or the NPC is afraid of being dethroned? Whatever is the case,
the NPC swallowed their very own hook, line and sinker. Not only did
they prove beyond reasonable doubt if there was really any doubt
anyway, with how they censored their very own mural on press freedom.

5.
The lengthening of the hair and beard of the figure identified as
academician-columnist Prof. Randy David beside columnist Conrad de
Quiros.

The addition of beard and mustache and the change of
hair color from white to black of the pugo and balut vendor identified
as columnist and Martial Law detainee Juan Mercado.

Juan
Mercado and Randy David both freedom fighters, I need not elaborate
their contributions to our society. So why in whoever’s name would
censor their appearance in the mural. A cheap shot in my guess like
when you see someone in a magazine or a comic book who dispute your
good-looks or someone you know you could not kill but very much detest,
a cowardly act by my book.

All those graffiti, alterations
and abominations were done not because some frat-worshipper wacko got
hold of a can of spray paint. And I am positive that the one
responsible could not possibly ask Isaac Mendez in his elevated state
to alter the state of the mural. So the big question is… for who and
why?

It was alleged that the Presidential Security Group
coerced the NPC to have the mural altered. If that is the case then it
wouldn’t take a wise man clutching incense and myrrh to discern who is
responsible. Frankly, you need not watch the news or read the papers to
know. The word of mouth that is very mouthful at that, points to the
one, not the One of The Matrix kind but the one who most people in the
street blurt out to why we are in this wretched state. Moreover, given
the fact that the PSG did not coerce the NPC, you would just have to
inquire who the present heads of the NPC are, who are they aligned with
or who appointed whom.

So who? It can never be more precise. It
is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability—The Yamashita or Medina
standard. Who? COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY.

[To be concluded]

It
has been weeks since the National Press Club (NPC) mural was sodomized
for the reason that there are many leftist elements inculcated in the
mural by the Angono artists. I for one was shocked when I read the
paper that day. I have been meaning to write a protest blog for that
fiasco but due to previous engagements I decided to postpone it for a
week or two, knowing all too well that due to the initial alarm that
such attack on press freedom, a tsunami of protest and violent
reactions would surely ensue and after a couple of weeks the public
would then forget about the whole fiasco. You may call it a blessing in
disguise or I may call it prolonging the public outrage over such a
despicable assault on the freedom of the press. So, here, now, after
weeks of silence, I am now sounding my indignation on why the NPC which
stood by the motto of the freedom of the press is at the forefront of
censoring it. However, I am saving my disgust for the disgusting
alteration of the NPC mural for my next post. As a pre-cursor, I’ll be
sharing with you the speech of V from the movie V for Vendetta and hope
against hope that you find the parallels that I found. 

Good evening London,

Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I
do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the
security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them
as much as any bloke. But
in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the
past usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful
bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could
mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered,
by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a
little chat. There are of course
those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being
shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way.
Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation;
words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning,
and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth
is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?
Cruelty and injustice! Intolerance and oppression! And where once you
had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now
have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and
soliciting your submission.    

How
did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those more
responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again
truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look
into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who
wouldn’t be? War! Terror! Disease! There were a myriad of problems
which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common
sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last
night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old
Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten.   

More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His
hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are
more than words, they are perspectives. So if you’ve seen nothing, if
the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would
suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you
see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek,
then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside
the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of
November that shall never, ever be forgotten. 

[To be continued]