“The words are not good for the secret meaning, everything always becomes a bit different, as soon as it is put into words, gets distorted a bit, a bit silly—yes, and this is also very good, and I like it a lot, I also very much agree with this, that this what is one man’s treasure and wisdom always sounds like foolishness to another person.” ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
It's Sept 21 again. Time to remember Sept 21, 1972 when Marcos supposedly signed Proclamation 1081 to start his 14-year Martial Law reign. Technically, Martial Law was lifted in 1980, but only in name. The country was still under a de facto Martial Law. It was a Romualdez-Marcos Conjugal Dictatorship. The Filipinos finally rose against… Continue reading Martial Law Madness
Pluto's entry into Aquarius is a significant astrological event, as Pluto represents transformation, power, regeneration, and deep societal change, while Aquarius is associated with innovation, revolution, collective ideals, and humanitarianism. The last time Pluto was in Aquarius was from 1777 to 1798, a period marked by the American and French Revolutions, the rise of Enlightenment… Continue reading Pluto in Aquarius: Trump and the Russia-Ukraine war.
(Or My Life at UP CMC Graduate School during Nemenzo's Presidency) Last night, Khrysta and I went to the wake of Dr. Francisco Nemenzo at the GT-Toyota Asian Center Auditorium, UP Diliman. I first met Dr. Nemenzo in the late 1990s at a get-together at the residence of then Inter-Press Service (IPS) chief Kunda Dixit.… Continue reading Dodong Nemenzo, the Intellectual Activist
BARMM DismembermentOn September 9, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the Province of Sulu is not a part of the Bangsa Moro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) since the province voted against the ratification of the new Bangsamoro Organic Law in the plebiscite held on January 21, 2019. This now opens a Pandora box.… Continue reading Federalism :Many Nations–One State
The Real Story of the Origins of the modern-day Malita There are just so many #FakeNews or #MisInformation or #DisInformation widely disseminated through the World Wide Web that one does not know what to believe anymore. One cannot trust even official government sites or even legal documents like congressional bills. Some may be harmless or… Continue reading MALITA, the town my great-grandparents built
On 23 November 2009, exactly 13 years ago, Andal Ampatuan, with his armed paramilitary security, with the complicity of some policemen, massacred 58 people, including 34 journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based NGO that promotes Press Freedom for the world, described the killings as "the single deadliest event for journalists in… Continue reading Ampatuan / Maguindanao Massacre: 13 years hence
Postprandial Musings, 2.0 