My Workplace (Another Tag Game)

Got tagged by Chuckie a few weeks ago (pasensya na Chuckie). Took me a while to answer back as I keep forgetting my my camera. Well, as most of you have read in Chuck’s entry, this tag game is quite simple, just post a photo of your work place and that’s it. However, for me it took me a while, as aside from the forgetfulness alibi, I still don’t have a permanent work place at the Uni.

So, in short, not only did I need to address our being NPAs but I also have to settle my permanent work place. Anyway, here are photos of my work place, the trailer trash!

When media “dictates” the story

The Philippine Daily Inquirer recently made a major blooper bannering a headline that President Arroyo was present during an alleged bribery of several politicians. The news was also carried on Inquirer.net. Apparently the error was discovered only before the daily deadline for the day’s stories, which is at 3pm.

Lao Plot and Burma action

A few months back, one story on Bangkok Post caught my eye. As one wire agency reporter described it, the plot was just like a classic spy novel. The plot costs around US$28million and though it will be led by a leading Hmong activist in the US, it will mainly be supported by ex-CIA agents, which number barely about a size of a platoon. The US took the plan seriously (well, it was serious that money and other logistics were allegedly ready) and charged those behind the possibly deadly revolutionary plan.

This case shows that the US is full of irony. Here’s a noble plan, albeit deadly, to overthrow a tyrant government and yet they threw the books at the plotters. When they planned to attack Afghanistan and Iraq they were relying on their belief that it was their moral authority to lead the war on terror regardless whether it will be sanctioned by the United Nations or not (remember the lines of Judge Dredd, I AM the LAW!!!). 🙂

Now, Burma (Myanmar) is making some noise for change. More than a decade ago, Myanmar also faced the same turmoil, wherein people trooped to the street to demand change but they the government responded with a hail of bullet. However, the best help that Myanmar got were a series of economic sanctions from various countries, which didn’t work. Every country just stood to see the people of Myanmar suffer.

Today, it seems that it will be the same old story and it might probably be that the Myanmar Military Junta might go down to the books as the longest serving military dictators of all time (counting to around 40 years now).

My friend from Myanmar was able to return to Perth but he wasn’t able to join any of the protest action (just send me a personal message if you want to know why). However, I noticed that he is a changed man. He is a man burning with passion and anger against the government. He confirmed that there is possibly more than 200 that were killed in the military dispersal of the Buddhist monk-led protest rally in Yangon.

“I am very angry with my government,” he told me. “They killed the monks right at the most sacred place of our religion, Shwedagon Pagoda,” he explained. He said that hundreds are missing without a trace after the government crackdown. Everybody’s being arrested, according to him, whether they participated or not. It was worse for those living in proximity to the temple. Some of them were arrested even if they haven’t participated in any protest action. He also said that the jails in Yangon are filled to the brim.

The US Ambassador Shari Villarosa recently held a high level meeting with the government. My friend told me that she was allegedly shown the monks that were arrested and Villarosa was made to believe that the monks were treated fairly. However, my friend believes otherwise. “They are killing everybody,” he said. Allegedly, all the monks that were arrested were marked for “substitution.” “The monks were killed as they were replaced by soldiers posing as monks. They shaved their heads to make her (Villarosa) believe that they are still alive. How could she possibly know that they are legitimately the monks when she can’t speak or can’t understand Burmese language,” he explained.

As of this writing, all the hyped talks at the international (UN) and regional level (ASEAN) are on going however, all are just talks and no definitive action (except for further economic sanctions) are being planned. As always, it’s all just talk despite the large number of people killed.

So what’s with Myanmar, Rwanda, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia among others that each are treated in a different way by the international community especially the all powerful US??? You make your guess, I rest my fingers for now…

Reminiscent of Mendiola

I have yet to hear from my friend from Myanmar. He was supposed to return last night. I saw a video clip of what happened in Yangon over Mizzima News. When I saw it, it reminded me of Mendiola Massacre–I just couldn’t take the brutality of the situation.

A friend of mine was in the front line of the protesting peasant farmers. Her colleague was hit by a bullet in the face. She survived and so did her colleague. I saw the event on TV and it became one of historical events on TV that I’ll never forget aside from the assassination of Ninoy.

It was reported that the Military Junta had cut off the internet connection in the country to avoid any leakage of any documentation of the military action against the protesters and hold a clip on the nation’s blogger informants. The military had previously cracked down on protesters in 1988 when thousands were killed. They are still defiant again despite increasing international pressure including from its strongest ally, China. If they continue their defiance at this stage, will they have the guts to annihilate more than 10,000 people at one go? Will the international community, again, just watch and contribute to the rhetoric of diplomatic scolding and spanking (economic sanction) of this country? It’s everybody’s guess and I hope that the video clip at Missima News will be the last image of that kind that I will see from Yangon.

Burma in crisis

As I’m writing this, a colleague of mine is still in Yangon (Rangoon). He called yesterday to assure us that he’s fine. Well, we all know of the news about this poor country. What followed was unprecedented. To think that all the monks wanted was just an apology. Things got worse today.

My colleague is having second thoughts of leaving Yangon. He has an obligation to finish his study here in Perth but he would be leaving his family behind with his country deteriorating day after day. He’s arriving tomorrow… maybe.

To find out more about the Burma crisis click here.

Almost a month

I thought I’ll never get out of this nightmare but I’m glad I’m sitting down again (did I ever stood up???) in front of the computer and trying to relax my almost burnt out mind….

There’s just too many stress that came just as my blog turned 1. Tonight I’m close to finishing one consultancy report and there’s another one on the line, which should not be a problem (hmm… am I sensing procrastination there?? naaah… I’m well aware so I will not wear. 🙂 ).

House

My family’s refugee status would slightly take longer than expected. A little over a month and after almost five applications with various real estate agencies (from the fruit of a hooker to ray’s one and only 🙂 if this phrase makes any sense) it has been failure after failure.

They say patience is a virtue but I did not come here just to spend my time inspecting one house after another and just be rejected and rejected again and rejected again. These real estate agents have their reasons for declining our application. We are a returning temporary resident here in Australia and the almost a year stay in New South Wales was not enough to satisfy any property manager’s standard.  This made me think, if I were an ex convict trying to start anew–it would be very hard to start over again-clean–do you get my point?

I’ve learned from almost a month of filling up application after application and asking people here the following:

• Rental cost have increased after we left Australia in 2004: Reason varied from the increase in Australia’s mining industry to economic losses???.
• Most real estate agent/owner would likely prefer tenants who are single status compared to a family: They argue that children would likely increase the deterioration of the property–there’s an observation that even a couple with a single child will deteriorate a house three times more than a tenant who is/are single in civil status (well, I think this is true with most of the kids proving to be a true personification of Dennis the Menace)–Man, my girls are not like that, they will not tear down your house just like that and you have the security bond anyway, what’s that for?
• “Real Estate Agents Knows Best” and they are true to this and have been dictating to us how we should live–that we must live in a three bedroom house when in fact we’ve lived in a one bedroom house in Bangkok and even in the Quezon City in the past six years!–Consequently, we’ve been trying to adjust our budget to meet the demands of these mighty, all knowing real estate agents.
• It doesn’t matter if you can pay regularly the rent, each application is a point system, if you have a car that earns you big points, a local licence will also earn you as much as 50 points.
• Might as well buy a house rather than rent–this is the only time that real estate agents will take attention

If you’re a newbie nowadays here in Australia and will rent a house, prepare for a battle with other tenancy applicants as one tries to outbid the other. This development further pushes the rental market prices to an average of Aus$270 for a three bedroom house in a decent suburb.

A colleague of mine was so desperate that he grabbed (and was lucky enough to get the property) the opportunity to rent a Aus$220 one bedroom unit, although one ride from the Uni but still far off. He has a wife and a two year old son.

As for myself, despite having a number of personal references (from WA to NSW) and a letter from the University expressing my regular financial support this isn’t enough. One agent told me, “oh we’re not like other real estate agents–they could be very greedy.”

Greedy, indeed, is the word and they are trying to push the market higher and higher until Australia registers its first few hundreds of homeless families. I hope we will not be one of them. 😦

Sigma Rhoan

The test of a true Sigma Rhoan
Is not his individual greatness,
But the virtue of not leaving any Sigma Rhoan in disgrace,
For until the day breaks
And the shadows flee,
Time will always be the essence of
Our oneness,
And we shall always remember,
That we are called Sigma Rhoans, Because we stand as true
Brothers above the rest.

 

The True Sigma Rhoan from Sigma Rho Fraternity, UP

Family and politics

A special report by GMANews.TV on political clans and pork barrel caught my eye last month. The Philippines is said to have good laws against corruption including nepotism however, it seems the Filipinos have not learned in the past when only the few controlled the government.

According to this report, at least nine families have access to at least PhP1 billion of pork barrel funds–a source of corruption as this kind of fund does not usually undergo scrutiny under the Commission on Audit. Now, do you still wonder why election, more specifically politics is a BIG THING in the Philippines. People literally kill to get their hands on various political posts.

Stargazer

Thanks to Getty they have at least a stock of what a lunar eclipse would have looked like. Australia had very good view of the lunar eclipse last Tuesday night but not us here in Western Australia. The weather spoiled my planned moon gazing activity.

I first fell in love with star gazing during a trip to the Manila Planetarium when I was an elementary student. The centre was jampacked then that I had to lie down on the floor to see the film showing. Lying on the floor was in fact the best position to watch the film as we watch about a film documentary about space (the film was projected on the centre’s dome roofing). It was the first time that I took notice of such beautiful bodies… albeit heavenly bodies 🙂 Orion, the bear, the big dipper and the moon.

Since then, stargazing has been my favorite past time especially whenever I get to a pitch black place. I remember my first lunar eclipse experience was also back when I was in elementary. The moon looked very big and my friends were telling horror stories during that night but it was certainly an awesome sight as the moon looks so huge and perfectly round.

When I first arrived here in Australia, I was amazed with the weather, which was most of the time clear skies during the night that one could get a very good view of the heavens. It is surely an awesome and exhilarating experience. So investing on a good telescope is not worthless for any stargazer. 🙂

Anyway, I missed this latest total lunar eclipse. I’ll definitely mark the next one–December 2011–as to where I’ll be by that time, I’m not yet sure but I’ll definitely not going to miss it unless cloudy weather prevails again. 🙂