Number 3 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, Imagine was “anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic, but because it’s sugar-coated, it’s accepted,” says John Lennon.

Read on for the lyrics. Imagine, Utopia.
(May side comment oh, “pag Utopia… di ba pang-komunista yun.” Mas okay na ata yun kesa sa ideyang umiikot ang mundo sa pera.)

‘Imagine’ by John Lennon

Imagine there’s no Heaven; It’s easy if you try; No hell below us; Above us only sky; Imagine all the people; Living for today.

Imagine there’s no countries; It isn’t hard to do; Nothing to kill or die for; And no religion too; Imagine all the people; Living life in peace.

You may say that I’m a dreamer; But I’m not the only one; I hope someday you’ll join us; And the world will be as one.

Imagine no possessions; I wonder if you can; No need for greed or hunger; A brotherhood of man; Imagine all the people; Sharing all the world.

You may say that I’m a dreamer; But I’m not the only one; I hope someday you’ll join us; And the world will live as one.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is hands-on even with the selection of National Artists in the Philippines. She named national artists the incumbent NCCA executive director Cecile Guidote-Alvarez for Theater, and “massacre” movie director and komiks fictionist Carlo J. Caparas for Visual Arts.

Video created by: Rainier Pengson

“Ako mismo di magba-blog ng makakasama sa bayan,” said this one dude from the paid advertisement Ako Mismo of Smart Telecoms. I wonder what he was thinking, especially when the highest ranking official in the country has never been fazed – or at least not publicly, thanks to her awe-so-powerful propaganda machinery – of any of such things which mostly were referring to the president, herself.

So, is it okay when non-Filipinos blogs something derogatory of our country?

The headline of the Sunday, August 9, 2009, edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer reads: GMA dined for P1M in NY, Critics: ‘Lavish’ meal leaves bad taste in the mouth

According to the PDI, it was from an August 7, 2009 online story, EAT AND DRINK, of the New York Post, where Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) quoted it saying, “Ms. Arroyo and her entourage dined at Le Cirque restaurant, consuming $20,000 worth of food and wine.”

Again, allow me to mention texts from the PDI story:

Richard Johnson, author of the story, wrote: “The economic downturn hasn’t persuaded everyone to pinch pennies. Philippines President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was at Le Cirque the other night with a large entourage enjoying the good life, even though the former comptroller of her country’s armed services, Carlos Garcia, was found guilty earlier this year of perjury and two of his sons were arrested in the US on bulk cash-smuggling charges. Macapagal-Arroyo ordered several bottles of very expensive wine, pushing the dinner tab up to $20,000.”

Wow. So which is better? Filipinos blogging the bad things experienced by Filipinos in this country, hoping this country’s leaders will take notice… or having foreign writers, who are obviously more aware than we imagined them to be, write bad things about us, Filipinos?

Wait, it is not yet over. The worst part, the dinner was the on eve before GMA left for the Philippines to pay her last respects to former president Cory Aquino. Sincerity is another to the many buts (buts, as plural of but) of this president.

I am merely hoping that you, the reader, will have your comment posted after reading this. To write or not to write the bad about this country, that is the question.

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Another snippet from a PDI headline, August 10, 2009, Palace: Just simple dinner:

Remonde lambasted Bayan… the report “is the fruit of a poisonous tree, coming as it does from Bayan, which is a communist front organization dedicated to the overthrow of democratic governments in the Philippines,” he said.

How pathetic Remonde is, with his mud-slinging tactics. It wasn’t Bayan who posted the report and they are merely asking for an explanation. And this is the Palace’s best answer? Geez.

Put faces in the names of the congressmen who voted for HR 1109 (please follow the link):

Photos of Congressmen who Signed Con-Ass (HR 1109)

Salamat sa World Wide Web. I bumped into this rather educational and entertaining video of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo dancing to her Cha-Cha via Con-Ass (produced by YouTube’s Vickitoh). C’mon, watch it. It would not take  you two minutes. Laugh, sing, laugh… then take action. We can no longer stay complacent with all these events unfolding. Make your voices heard, words read. Let’s stop this Con-Ass from happening.

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Inspired by the blog of Pedestrian Observer GB: Cha Cha Dancing Queen Gloria Arroyo’s latest conASS!

Libreng dyaryo... Kanino nanggaling?

Filipinas Herald… “News should always be free,” it says.

This certain publication is said to be published by Hav Media Publications. As of today, it only has one exact match in Google. Considering the daily production costs of this publication, it suggests that Hav Media should at least have an established reputation in press publication… and having no links or matches in the World Wide Web makes it all the more doubtful.

Being a graduate of a communication course, with decent familiarity to most forms of media — especially print, I noticed quite a few troubling things most readers actually wouldn’t mind.

(1) There are no advertisements. Thus no source of revenue, then why publish? Why spend so much and expect nothing in return?

(2) In its 08 June 2009 release, in the article entitled “Mancao faces trial until discharged as accussed“, the writer only interviewed two (2) persons as sources. If this was submitted in a Journalism class, I’m sure his/her professor will ask for more sources. A front page news, with only two sources, with Lawyer Carolina Comon of former Police Senior Supt. Cesar Mancao II almost only doing the talking… will that produce fair and credible news? I doubt.

(3) Check out the editorial cartoon. Top of the class editorial cartoon, ei? Not. And under the supposedly “The Bible” verse, a quote from Mother Teresa was used instead. Hays. Stupid.

(4) And finally, this is all Arroyo government news. This is the only publication who does not criticize GMA and all her cohorts.

So is this what they call FREE? Are we again just being fooled? With more than three (3) government television networks and more radio networks, why take another cover from this publication? Someone might have told them that reading news leaves a mark in for the long haul compared to watching or listening to them. People view written materials as readily credible sources of news and information.

Well, whatever it is, this government is doing everything in its power to sell this current administration in exchange for a more positive view from the people.

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Wow. I hope you can help me find out who runs this Filipinas Herald shit. It bothers me that taxpayers’ money is again being used by this government in their propaganda shit.

Can you fucking believe this self-serving congressman, Speaker Prospero Nograles, of the Lakas–Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-Kampi CMD) Party?

In the official site of the House of Representatives, it has a poll about this certain provision which is about to be included in the latest attempt to amend the constitution. Geez.

Many progressive countries allow foreigners to own land in their own territories. Do you favor amending our laws to allow non-Filipinos and majority foreign-owned corporations to own land as a means of attracting new capital and investments?
agree 91 votes. (23.16 %)
disagree 296 votes. (75.32 %)
undecided 6 votes. (1.53 %)
Total votes: 393 These politicians are selling us, the Filipinos, out yet again… to the foreigners. WE NEED FILIPINO LEADERS, not these easy-way-out-thinking TRAPOS! Just in case you haven’t heard: The House railroaded past the Con-ass resolution… “Using their massive numbers, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives Tuesday night crushed all objections and passed a resolution setting up a constituent assembly (Con-ass) amid opposition warnings it would allow Ms Arroyo to stay in power beyond 2010.“ ~ “House rams through Con-ass resolution” by Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. Leila Salaverria Lira Dalangin-Fernandez of the Philippine Daily Inquirer | INQUIRER.net

Who do you want to save?

Here we go again… the Palace talking gibberish. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita has “urged all the women in Dr. Hayden Kho’s sex videos to press charges, saying that ‘anything that is offensive to public morals must be sanctioned.’“

The irony is, the Palace pardoned a convicted child rapist in the person of Romeo Jalosjos. Wow. Will the people from this so-called Palace just stop talking? For chrissake.

*I’m not saying Hayden “Ultimate Perv” Kho should not be put in the fucking shit hole he’s in, I just want the Palace to shut the fuck up because they are not in the position to teach us morals or to fight for our rights… as they have long tampered both.

To everyone who says the
Jonas Brothers
are going to be the next Beatles,
next Aerosmith
and next whatever…

I fucking doubt.