“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
Is there a connection between the Battle of Bayang in Lanao, Bangsa Moro in 1902 and the Battle of Karbala in Iraq in 680 CE? A distance of 7900 kilometers and a period of 1222 years separate them.In May 1902, some 1,200 American soldiers attacked two Mranao cottas in the pangampong (state or principality) of… Continue reading Battle of Bayang in Moroland, Battle of Karbala in Iraq and my great-grandfather
With the explosion of Information Technology, the amount of misinformation and disinformation multiplied since it can now be shared and distributed worldwide with just a click on the keyboard. And it remains in cyberspace, perhaps forever. Seemingly innocuous information could easily pass for facts.I just saw on the Internet such misinformation about my father. Actually,… Continue reading Misinformation, Disinformation, or Lack of Research ?
August 3, was the death anniversary of my father, Macapanton Abbas, Sr. I was just 5 and a half years old when he passed away, so I don't really know much about him, esp. when he was a young man. For whatever I remember of him, he was already an old man. He was already… Continue reading Portrait of My Father as a Young Man
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
This is a mini lecture delivered on March 4, 2022 on the webinar titled Digital Journalism and the Mindanao Vote. Organized by Philippine Press Institute (PPI) and Journalism Studies Association of the Philippines, Inc. (JSAP, Inc.) supported by Hanns Seidel Foundation in cooperation with Internews in collaboration with USAID. I prepared for a one-hour lecture,… Continue reading Philippine Elections and the Mindanao Vote in the Age of Social Media
For the past seven years or so, the Philippines has been touted as the “Social (Media) Nation of the world”. This is reminiscent of the time when the Philippines was being hailed as the “texting capital of the world”, even before the turn of the millennium. But at first glance at the statistics, it doesn’t… Continue reading Philippines: Social Media Capital of the World
Postprandial Musings, 2.0 