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Nope, he did not die; he is in Bulacan now.
Author Archives: Arbet Bernardo
6
Dec
Rape Usually Happens at Night
Sa pagbabago ng tuntunin ng Mababang Kapulungan ng Kongreso sa pagmungkahi sa pagsususog ng Saligang Batas, isang katotohanan ang kanilang inamin:
Upang magsusog ng Saligang Batas, kinakailangan na ang susog ay dumaan sa normal na paraan ng pagpapasa ng mga batas.
Para maging ganap na batas ang isang panukala, kinakailangang ipasa ito ng parehong Kapulungan. Kinakailangang sumang-ayon ang nakakarami sa Mababa at Mataas na Kapulungan upang maging batas ang panukala. Kapag hindi sumang-ayon ang karamihan sa kasapi ng kahit isa sa dalawang kapulungan, hindi magiging batas ang panukala.
Ayon sa tuntunin ng Mababang Kapulungan (Section 105), para matanggap ang isang resolusyong nagpapanukala ng pagsusog sa Saligang Batas, kailangang dumaan ito sa paraan ng pagpasa ng normal na panukala.
Matagal nang ipinipilit ng mga tulad ni Jose de Venecia na hindi na kailangan ang Senado upang mabuo ang isang Constituent Assembly at masusog/mapalitan ang kasalukuyang Saligang Batas. Binabase ni de Venecia ang kanyang paniniwala sa mga nakasaad sa Saligang Batas ukol sa pagsususog nito:
Artikulo 17, Seksyon 1. Ang ano mang susog o pagbabago sa Konstitusyong ito ay maaaring ipanukala:
(a) ng Kongreso sa pamamagitan ng tatlong-kapat na boto ng lahat ng mga Kagawad nito; o
(b) sa pamamagitan ng isang Kumbensyong Konstitusyonal.
Pero, bakit kailangan pa nilang baguhin ang kanilang tuntunin? Noon pa man, alam na nila de Venecia na kailangang ipasa rin ng Senado ang isang resolusyon na nagsususog sa Saligang Batas. Alam na nila na kailangang ipasa ng Senado ang isang resolusyon na tatawag sa isang Constituent Assembly.
Ano ang implikasyon ng ginawa nina de Venecia kagabi?
1. Inamin nila (bagamat hindi direkta) na upang mabago/masusog ang Saligang Batas, kailangan ang boto ng Mababa at ng Mataas na Kapulungan.
2. Gagawin nila ang lahat makuha lamang ang kanilang nais, bagamat hindi ito ang nais ng mga taong kanilang kinakatawan.
Ito lang ang masasabi ko sa ginawa nina de Venecia: isa itong gawaing mala in se.
5
Dec
Express Headlines – 12/05/2006
Daily, morning commuters of LRT 1 and MRT 3 are bombarded with tabloid headlines of Manila Standard Today’s Express, MST’s answer to Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Libre.
I prefer Libre to Express. Libre is more of a catalog with news. At least the news are OK. Express – well, it’s a tabloid, complete with tabloid headlines.
And to commemorate the ingenuity of Express’ cheeky (and scandalous) headlines, I will post here their headlines every time I get a copy.
For today’s issue, here are the headlines:
GAY CONTESTANT, TIGOK SA STAGE! (Gay contestant dies on stage)
Hepe ng dumpsite tinambakan ng bala (Dumpsite manager dumped with bullets)
5
Dec
Prologue: Nightmare of Memories
It was the first time since a century or so that I had a semi-nightmare. Semi, because I did not wake up screaming nor sweating profusely nor sitting up immediately. Besides, it was not really horrific. Hence my reaction.
I was in in a long slumber, an attempt to subdue my unwanted hunger for human blood. It was good while it lasted – I’m not sure how long it lasted, undisturbed in this decrepit mausoleum in a private cemetery. Awake because of a dream that brought back tears to my still sleepy eyes.
The dream reminded me of times past, centuries ago. The dream reminded me that I had parents and siblings.
—
I am in a cavernous complex with two huge doors. The one on the right is calm, subdued; on the left is fiery and violent. Between the two is clearly a receptionist’s desk; a young lady sitting behind the desk, entertaining visitors. It is a long line, actually. She directs the people on either doors.
I do not know what I am doing here. My brother is with me, which surprises my till now. After all, I have not seen him since – I can’t remember. Maybe centuries ago.
So we line up, like the rest, and wait for our turn. The people have the same look – sad, gloom. Even my brother looks that way, even if I know he is glad to see me.
Coming closer, people who are directed to the left door usually turns violent, clearly not wanting to go there. Two men in clearly police uniform force the recalcitrant to enter the left door. What’s in that door?
After a long while, it is our turn to be entertained by the lady. She is around her early 30s, simple in manner and dress, not a stunning beauty but pleasant. In front of her is a monitor.
***
The next few lines were a blur. I was asked to enter the door at the right, and my brother tried to follow, but he was stopped. He was told to enter at the left.
***
I still can’t believe what a benevolent young man had just told me. That I am in Heaven, and my brother is in Hell. I cried when he told me that my brother is in Hell. We are not different from each other, I told him, so why am I here and he there?
The difference, he told me, was in the manner of death. He did not explain further, but he told me I can learn for myself. Now, I am just awaiting approval for my request. I am returning to earth, to find out the truth.
***
Our house looks the same since the day I left it. However, the spirit of gloom is so palpable; I immediately felt sad when I stepped foot on the stairs. We are poor ever since, and I almost cried at the sign of deep poverty that pervades the air.
The windows are dilapidated, some are torn out. Most of them are dark, uninhabited. Only one room looks to be occupied. Soft sounds of sobbing emanates from this room.
Entering the house, I immediately understood the spirit. The light is muted, almost dark. The smell of death is in the air. Sobs of grief are clearly audible. I cried.
At the center of the room, in a makeshift box, lies a body. I am hesistant to look; I already know who’s lying in that decrepit box. I know I am prepared for whatever is in there.
I am wrong.
Seated beside the box, my mom and dad are crying silently, trying to console each other, and failing. Falling into the warm embrace of my brothers somehow alleviated the sadness, but not enough. There is still the box, a dark foreboding of why I am here.
Taking a look at the box, I almost fainted in shock and anger. Inside the box is my brother’s body, mutilated, violated. His limbs, arms, and head are cut off. There is a hole in the chest, near the area where the human heart is.
Now I understand why my brother is in hell. He is seeking justice. And I am the one who has to render it.
***
The people had wrongly thought that my brother was a vampire. How foolish of them. If they only knew that the one facing them is a real vampire.
I just came from the cemetery after the cremation. In the town plaza, a party is clearly going on; the sound of glee is in the air, the smell of alcohol is obvious. It seems that everyone is here, celebrating.
I will allow them this short period of glee. After I get what I want, the festivities are over.
***
And after all seeing the flood of human blood coursing through the lifeless street, I know that justice is served. I know now that my brother is in Heaven, and for that I am happy. I know he will take care of our parents and brothers. I am content.
And I am in Hell, in his place.
—
Wiping away the tears, I went out of the mausoleum, gazing into the stars deep in the cold night. I hate to be reminded that I have a past, a happy past, a sad past. I do not believe in dwelling in what had gone before; what’s done’s been done. Afterall, all the past brings to you – to me – is unending sadness. A longing for a family. A love that never was.
30
Nov
Web Annoyance of the Week
Frank buyer will get negative feedback.
I won’t buy from that person, then.
29
Nov
Teenagers of Wrestling
When I was in second year high school, 5PM signified two things. One, it was time to go home. Second, it was slam-bang action time.
Nope, it is not what you are thinking.
The rage back then among teenaged boys was three words – World Wrestling Federation (now WWE).
Back then, WWE programming were seen on channel 9 (or was it 13?), showing Superstars of Wrestling. Pay-per-views were shown several months behind. And later episodes of Superstars were more on talk and less on action.
So imagine 10 or more boys, waiting to see their wrestling idols bang each other to bits on the small screen. And with Superstars transformed into a talk show, raging hormones pushed these boys into action.
The third floor of our school was our wrestling ring; 5PM meant noisy kids doing Heaven knows what. Teachers were busy packing up so that they could go home immediately, paying no heed to the ruckus in the third floor.
The third floor was the usual metropolitan public school corridor, all concrete, with red tiled floors and concrete railings where one can sit comfortably (but of course not allowed, since it was the third floor). The place was not conducive for physical games that involved head bashing, hits in the chest and back, elbows to the face, and so on.
One afternoon, the wrestling action got so heated, everything were a blur of black and white (school uniform) until a tinge of red appeared. I cannot remember clearly now who did it (I have a nagging feeling that I did it), but someone hit someone’s head to the door. I mean, someone held a classmate’s head between his arms and body, forming a ram of sort, and went on to bang the head in a door. BAM!
Good thing it was a minor wound, or we would have been in deep trouble then. The rusty red blood had somewhat led us to a more circumspect life. We were content with watching Superstars, until we lost interest, like any other impressionable teenager.
But, I am still watching Raw and Smackdown! and the pay-per-views; until Solar had wisen up and offered pay-per-views as pay-per-views. Ca-ching! Solar bodyslams its way to the bank.
29
Nov
Take Back the Tech: Mobile Pornography
When Nokia introduced the 7650 model almost three years ago, it has single-handedly changed the way we use a mobile phone. The 7650 was the first Nokia phone to carry a camera. Now a prospective mobile phone buyer looks not for a cellphone with a camera, but asks how many megapixels that a mobile phone camera has.
And the creation of applications that allow camera-enabled cellphones has led to what I call mobile pornography.
I find it sad that some women, in the name of love, actually allow for their lovers to take their pictures in the nude. And what saddens me most is the fact that some even allowed videos of them taken in flagrante delicto. Love can really make a fool out of us.
And again, business-minded fools are not far behind. You can even get these cellphone “scandals” in VCD and DVD forms. Heck, if you know where to find, you can probably get them from those cellphone stalls in bazaars and malls, for a fee. The scandal involving a starlet and her basketball player-boyfriend is just a symptom of what’s possible with a cellphone.
The camera-enabled cellphone is just another piece of technology that we have to take back from the realm of the malicious.
technorati tags: takebackthetech
29
Nov
Another SOHANAD worm
I think a new SOHANAD variant is in the wild.
I had received a suspicious message from a friend via YM. Actually I had received several messages, but it contains one link only. Unlike other SOHANAD variants, the link is not disguised as such; the link address is what is stated in the message.
So I tried looking at it, and it was a PHProxy page. But when I viewed its source, it was just just a frameset with two frames, both SRCs are located OUTSIDE the Web site itself. One points to a Vietnamese-like Web site (with a Vietnamese-sounding URL), and another from a Yahoo!-hosted page (no longer available at the moment).
So viewing the Vietnamese-sounding Web site and its source, I am convinced it is a SOHANAD worm. The source contains a VBScript typical of SOHANAD carriers that exploits MS06-014.
Basically what it does is to download a file from the Vietnamese-sounding Web site, save it on your computer, and using the exploit to execute the downloaded file. Voila!
So far, here are the messages that I had received:
Beauty KIDs… http://cso[BLOCKED]2.net
For iTunes hacker, the freedom of the open code … http://cso[BLOCKED]2.net
How Windows XP Wasted $25 Billion of Energy… http://cso[BLOCKED]2.net
Oh my GOD #… http://cso[BLOCKED]2.net
The file to be downloaded is named VNN.EXE.
YM users are advised to be careful when handling links sent via IM, even if it came from your friends. BTW, FireFox users can view the page safely, as it ignores VBScript.
28
Nov
Take Back the Tech: Web Voyeurism
The invention of the Webcam spelled the beginning of online exhibitionism and voyeurism. Not contented with text and voice chats, real-time video added a new dimension to the sleaziness that pervades a part of the online world.
And for the first time, exhibitionists and voyeurs found a medium well-suited to their “needs”. Unfortunately, capitalists took notice and set up businesses that cater to online voyeurs.
Unconvinced? Here are some links:
Task force rescues women, arrests a couple for trafficking
2 foreigners killed in raid on cybersex den
Cops arrest 20 in ‘cybersex’ den raid
19 girls rescued from cyber exploitation
On Google search for “raid on cybersex den”, and see what I mean.
But I always feel sorry for the women who had unwittingly became victims of Webcam abuse. While I respect everyone’s personal conduct on the Web (I’m no puritan), I hope women will be more circumspect, specially when using Web cams.
There are some scrupulous individuals (mostly males) who looks for women chatters in instant messenger chat rooms. They always look in “sleazy” chat rooms and for women chatters with Web cams. When a victim is found, they convince her to do things. And the fools take a screen capture, and distribute the compromising picture to anyone interested.
This racket can even be used for black mail. After all, who wouldn’t protect someone’s reputation?
The Webcam is another piece of technology that is abused. Another sad evidence of man as a perverted animal.
technorati tags: takebackthetech
27
Nov
Take Back the Tech: Web Pornography
The Web is a facet of technology that has become ubiquitous to human kind. It is a big infrastructure well-suited for sharing information and media. It is also a medium of communication guaranteed by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (Article 19).
The Web is a reflection of man – complicated, complex, convoluted. And as an invention of man, it has a lot of uses, from the sublime to the divine, from the mundane to the inhumane.
Violence can be defined as “any act of aggression and abuse which causes or intends to cause injury, in some cases criminal, or harm to persons, and (to a lesser extent) animals or property” (Wikipedia). The Internet in general and the Web in particular are simple tools to violate other’s rights and persons. How simple can it be? All you need is twenty Philippine pesos.
Probably the simplest form of violence inflicted against women using the Web is pornography. The prevalence of this violence is due to the fact that “(Internet pornography) allows people to view pornography (essentially) anonymously in the comfort and privacy of their homes. It also allows access to pornography by people whose access is otherwise restricted for legal or social reasons” (Wikipedia). This makes the violence more criminal, more foul; it is pornography in a large scale.
True, that most of these are for-pay services. False, that it is a valid excuse. A complex Google search will generate results that will show FREE pornographic materials available online.
For a simple signup, a perverted user can join Web groups and browse pornographic materials for free. Or an email-based group, perhaps. The point is that exploitation is not always equal to financial return.
The problem is serious. For one, the victims are getting younger; exploitation and loss of innocence is not limited to the primary victims.
Unfortunately, despite getting paid for using their bodies for satisfying other’s carnal desires, women are victims in whatever way you look at it. And there can be no justification for exploiting unwilling victims of this violence.
What can be done?
—
What can YOU do?
1. commit: commit yourself to 16 days of blogging about violence against women and technology.
2. _email:_Email ideas@takebackthetech.net, with your blog address and name/handle/nick if you want to sign up as a Ka-BLOGger, if possible, before 25 November. f you don’t have a blog yet, this will be a great place to start! Email us, and we’ll send you links on how to start your own blog
3. identify: make it known by putting a takebackthetech icon on your blog — create your own or grab a few icons from our Campaign Tools and Materials.
4. post: post something about the how you think violence against women connects with information communications technology? have a story? heard something quirky? snap a picture? think this is serious? doesn’t make much sense? anything at all! just commit one post a day from 25 nov to 10 dec on thinking about violence against women
5. tag it: use “takebackthetech” to tag your posts;
6. link back: send in your bloglinks and we’ll rss your posts to the campaign website throughout the 16 days.
7. expand: widen the campaign to your readers by linking your blog to the campaign site.
technorati tags: takebackthetech