Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu of South Africa has this reminder to the advocates of the US-led war of terror:
“You can never win a war against terror as long as there are conditions in the world that make people desperate — poverty, disease, ignorance, et cetera.”
Bishop Tutu’s remarks in Hong Kong should further help clarify why the United States military should withdraw pronto from Iraq. It should not just be about the growing list of US military casualties, or the now-obvious lie about weapons of mass destruction. Terrorism cannot be snuffed out while the social bases of poverty, inequity, corruption and foreign domination continue to hold sway in Iraq and elsewhere.
Carabao English is said to have marred the decision of the Sandiganbayan special division finding former President Joseph Estrada guility of plunder, says a Manila Times opinion piece.
Many await Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez’s decision whether to stay or quit his post given his health condition. But what is perplexing is that President Arroyo seems to be oblivious to the fact that her justice secretary is too ill. Let’s see what happens within the week.
aparador ni lisa apologizes for her intermittent blogging and gives us a review of an art exhibit on, well, erotica.
Kenneth is fascinated with Alicia Keys while with Gabriela members.
Red Indian poet and writer Raymund “Bukaneg” Villanueva compares cheerleading during his college days and the recent UAAP competition won by UP Diliman. Bukaneg says the UAAP teams are trying their best (or worst?) to mimic US-style cheerleading.
Consumer complaint: PLDT subsidiary AirborneAccess does not have an official email address in its website where subscribers can send complaints and suggestions. The only contact points are 1) a mobile phone access code; and 2) a 24-hour landline. AA should come out with an email address for customer feedback — a request that should naturally be welcomed by a company that provides wireless internet service.
Congratulations to the Computer Professionals Union for the success of Software Freedom Day event at the University of the Philippines which highlighted free and open source software as alternative to pirated software. Read the short Inquirer.net writeup about it. According to MindanaoNews, Davao City also held a similar event at the University of Southeastern Philippines.
Speaking of software freedom, the European Union’s second highest court rejected an appeal by Microsoft over an earlier European Commission decision finding the global IT superpower guilty of monopoly abuse. The new ruling upheld the $613-million fine the EC ordered Microsoft to pay, and reinforced orders on Microsoft to share communication codes with other companies and to sell a copy of the Windows OS without a Media Player.
The $613-million fine is said to be the highest ever in EU judicial history.
Jeers to singer Christian Bautista for flunking a test: He forgot the closing lines of the national anthem which he was tasked to sing in an exhibition boxing match at an Alabang mall. Good thing, Bautista immediately apologized and promised to give Lupang Hinirang the proper treatment next time.
Showing Sept. 18, 5:00-7:00 pm at mag:net Katipunan, courtesy of the Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment: An Inconvenient Truth, an award-winning documentary presented by former US Vice President Al Gore. The screening is part of the NGO’s SineKalikasan series.
Finally, a China man dies after a three-day internet binge. So please don’t be the next victim.