SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
_____________________________________________
Separating the bull from the shit: Revisiting the weekend mutiny
Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV and the rest of the flat group of mutineers may have failed in the eyes of many as they called off their rebellion on Sunday against the corrupt military system they were trying to expose. They, however, succeeded in exposing the most abhoring facet of corruption in the military --- sale of arms to insurgents. And if this is followed by an independent, honest-to-goodness inquiry, who knows? The eyes of the sleeping majority may soon be opened. Or am I asking to much?
The Magdalo group claimed they had nothing personal to gain from the mutiny. They were a bunch of idealistic junior military officers who do not seek to grab power but merely to air their grievances. They succeeded in doing just that. Because they really seem not to have any answer to the 'what's next' question, the mutiny was bound to end the way it did.
The alleged corruption in the military goes beyond sale of arms. It goes beyond the alleged dealing with insurgents too. The worst news came a few months back when the military was linked to having colluded with the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group. Arroyo's response was predictable: she ordered an investigation on the matter.
Arroyo, in her State of the Nation (SONA) address on Monday ordered the setting up of two indepedent commissions to investigate the mutiny. On Tuesday, she announced the appointment of a retired Supreme Court justice to head a committee to investigate the issue. The Senate also planned to conduct its own investigation, the same senate which cleared the military of collusion charges with Abu Sayyaf in October 2002.
The Magdalo group tried to expose corruption in the military. Their method was certainly quite different from the way Fr. Nacorda and Grace Burnham used, but it carried a similar message. The government has conducted an inquiry in the past. A so-called 'independent' commission ordered by the President and a Senate inquiry will be conducted very soon. Too many inquiries, very few answers. Judge for yourself.
posted by Allan at 12:15 PM (GMT+8)
permalink (URL of this post) ::
(0) comments
::
main page
SOUNDING BOARD
Monday, July 21, 2003
_____________________________________________
Another reason to jerk off
A team of scientists based in Melbourne studied the sexual habits of more than 2,000 men, half with cancer and half healthy. They found out that those who ejaculated more than 5 times a week were less likely to develop serious prostate cancer. In the words of scientist Graham Giles, 'The more you flush the ducts out, the less there is to hang around and damage the cells that line them (Life and Style, This is London 17 July 2003).'
I am not going through the threats to external and internal validity and all those serious stuffs (that may take away the fun heheee). But if this is confirmed, just in case (c'mon stay with me heheee), then it's like 'once a day keeps prostate cancer at bay'. Preventing cancer and promoting peace? Not bad... not bad at all.
posted by Allan at 5:20 PM (GMT+8)
permalink (URL of this post) ::
(0) comments
::
main page
SOUNDING BOARD
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
_____________________________________________
Badass
I don't usually do this but since my stress level is way too high lately, and since greengrl gave me an idea, here goes...
SOUNDING BOARD
Friday, July 11, 2003
_____________________________________________
On UNIFEM's website: Improving Compliance to the Gender-Responsive Budgeting in the Philippines
The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is currently featuring the policy analysis I did in during my stint at the Public Policy Programme, National University of Singapore. Here's the introduction:
"This study was prepared by Allan O. Millar of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Republic of the Philippines, during 2002 in fulfillment of the requirements for a Masters degree in the Public Policy Programme, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, at the National University of Singapore (NUS). This innovative Programme requires that students undertake their Masters level research for a specific client. Allan had earlier met the UNIFEM Regional Economic Adviser through UNIFEM support for gender mainstreaming in the Philippines. As he was interested in gender budgeting, particularly the Philippines Gender and Development Five Percent budget, Allan requested that the UNIFEM Regional Programme for Engendering Economic Governance become his client. The Regional Economic Adviser provided input and feedback to the research, and feedback to NUS. However, the views expressed in this study do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of the Philippines, NUS or UNIFEM."
SOUNDING BOARD
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
_____________________________________________
Time of reckoning
Now is the time.
BBCnews.com on Monday reports that some claims about Iraq's weapons were given too much weight by the government. UK's all-party foreign affairs committee says a suggestion that 'Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes' should not have been given such prominence by the government (BBCnews.com 7 July 2003). Tony Blair has some serious explaining to do.
This inquiry is long overdue. The coalition of the willing went to war with one major reason - to preempt Iraq's possible use of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Until now, no WMD has been found. Are we really so naive to believe that if the coalition found any existence of WMDs, they would not be gloating globally to prove that the war was indeed justified? But the justification for going to war, in reality, was not found. Now it's time to turn the tides around. Perhaps this is the time of reckoning where in democratic systems and processes shall be put to test. And Britain's inquiry is certainly the first step.
posted by Allan at 11:51 AM (GMT+8)
permalink (URL of this post) ::
(0) comments
::
main page
