Fisher,Farmer

Personal and Family, Science & Technology | Comments (2)

By MAJOR TOM | November 5, 2009

I am just about to do some refinements or introduce finishing touches on a research work that had kept me so busy these past couple of months, one that took me even towards places far away from downtown, snatching long bus rides and toddling into bangkas ang ferries, all these over and above my main duty of college instruction.

The premise of my study was simple and plain, yet I believe that to this day, scientific scholars have yet to fully took advantage of this approach, of clearly defining the socio-economic and political routines of rural population, especially on Muslim communities, as my work is specifically focused at right now.

How do they make their living there and what potentials that awaits them in their everyday economic endeavors? Are they involved in activities that becomes futile in the long run, trapping them in the notorious cycle of poverty, leading to the general lackluster movement of our national economic life? Or do they just need a little push on the back or some encouragement?

It is of so much irony to me that major aspects of my research involves information which could be – I am afraid – common knowledge and accessible through effortless means --- this is my worry. Yet, despite of this, I should be emphasizing that verification and confirmation on these matters, no matter how routine and prevalent they are, are ultimately necessary in order to take-off towards another important query of my research.

First is knowing the livelihood activities of my targeted respondents and then determining the manner of improving on such, inculcating progress and development, mostly economic in character.

Ironic as it may seem, we realize that rural economic activities partakes through the fertile soil and the abundant sea. If not farmers, then fishermen. Farmer, fisher.

Upon this precept, developmental strategies should be focused on inherent and practiced abilities of the rural populace, such as in the methods of increasing production and of course, exponentiation of income as an end-result. And not ever to introduce them alien concepts, unless when the foundation of their economics have been resolved fully.

These are the basic premise of my present research work. I hope it would have enough wind to fly.

Apocalypse : The Second World War

Entertainment News, News & Info | Comments (4)

By MAJOR TOM | November 1, 2009

I’ve been so busy with work-related activities that my blog is on a slowdown for the meantime. I wonder what issues are hugging global politics right now, or those within our midst. I wouldn’t be as informed as I am usually is due to my busy schedule nowadays.

Maybe I just put some morsel of thoughts once in a while just to keep things on and running. I'd be so busy till the middle of December.

Last night, after driving my wife and kids to a friend’s despedida party, I kinda still felt the tiresomeness that resulted from a most recent travel to Cagayan de Oro and other Mindanao cities that I went to bed so much earlier than expected.

And the bed was so soothing to my bodice and the night wind was comforting similarly.
And to top it all, National Geographic channel was exhibiting a series I’ve been anticipating greatly these recent days, Apocalypse: The Second World War, a six-part television program about the events and happenstances of World War II, captured by camera while the war was unfolding, with so many clips that were previously unpublished.

Truly, war is so atrocious and so evil. Yet reminding me that anecdote about how war sometimes becomes inevitable and necessary.

I think I’ve finished watching only 3 of the 6 segments. I hope I’d be able to catch up with the other three. I felt that among many documentaries I’ve seen before, I most enjoyed this one. Not that I am a fan of war, if ever there is a term like that, but it was such a mind-opening experience, about the horrors of war, and what form of evil can men actually commit and implement.

Senator Escudero's Suggestion On Mindanao Peace Process

Philippine Politics, Current Events, News & Info | Comments (4)

By MAJOR TOM | October 21, 2009

Senator Chiz Escudero - in his Facebook account - suggests the novel idea of involving all possible stakeholders in any talk concerning the peace process in Mindanao. In toto:

INVOLVEMENT OF ALL PARTIES IN TALKS, NOT ONLY U.S. HELP, KEY TO PEACE IN MINDANAO - CHIZ

Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday said while he welcomed any help the United States might provide in the ongoing peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), he reiterated that all-out consultations with stakeholders is still the key to a long-lasting settlement in Mindanao.

“The US, or any other foreign country for that matter, can only achieve so much by taking part as honest brokers. In the end, it is really the involvement of all local stakeholders in the process that will ultimately lead to peace in the region,” he said.

Officials from the US embassy in Manila met recently with representatives of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Maguindanao to discuss ways how Washington could play a bigger role in resolving the conflict on the island.

Although the US currently provides humanitarian and development aid to conflict areas in Mindanao where poverty is rife, it is also conducting training exercises with Philippine troops battling rebels and extremists on the island.

Figures from the National Statistical Coordination Board indicate that the poverty incidence rate in the country was highest in Mindanao at 38.8 percent compared to 33 percent for the Visayas and 20 percent for Luzon

The 40-year-old lawmaker also reiterated the need to include in the peace talks all clans and representatives of indigenous peoples from conflict areas as well as local government units.

He noted the vast amount wasted by government as after nearly 30 years of confrontation as well as the continued internal displacement of people.

Based on data from the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process, annual economic losses from the Mindanao conflict from 1975-2002 has ranged from P5-10B, which would equate to a staggering P135-170B for 27 years. “These costs could have been used to alleviate poverty through the construction of infrastructure,” Escudero stressed.

The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Center has estimated the number of refugees in Mindanao at 600,000, calling it the “biggest displacement in the world.”

“The stalemate in Mindanao has gone on for far too long and it is obvious deep feelings of suspicion and hostility remain between and among the various stakeholders,” he said.

U.S. involvement in the Mindanao peace process is not a secret anymore even for a long time already, ever since last year, when the MOA-AD cancellation by the Supreme Court hugged headlines in the news world.

If this is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen. The United States has great leveraging power and this could be used to the hilt to finally solve the so-called 'Mindanao Problem' - of peace and lack of progress and economic development there, remaining until now to be the location of intances of massive poverty, despite the perniciousness of natural resources there.

Of course, there's always that query upon a superpower's aim and intentions of desiring to intervene in a mostly doemstic affair such as the peace process in Mindanao. Could America has hidden intentions, such as putting up a military base in Mindanao?

We could only surmise.

However - if for example - it is of great utility to the resolution of the peace issue there, then why not?

Can We Be Honest Even For Just A Moment?

Personal and Family, Philosophy | Comments (6)

By MAJOR TOM | October 17, 2009

This is a very interesting tag from Gypsy and it’s about ‘Honesty’, the one that is not an easy word.

But hey it’s the 21st century, we can be as honest as much as we want to be.

Before anything else, here’s some rules for the tag:

Can you fill this out without lying (it's not hard)? You've been tagged, so now you need to answer all the questions HONESTLY. At the end, choose at least 8 people to be tagged. Don't forget to tag me!

To do this, copy this entire message, then go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, start a new note, paste these instructions in the body of the note, delete my answers, and type yours. Easy!

Next, tag people and list their names at the bottom. Have fun!

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
Macaroni salad and mushroom.

2. Where was your profile picture taken?
Cebu – the one on my Facebook profile.

3. Can you play the guitar?
Pretty well. I was in a band when I was college.

4. Name someone who made you laugh today?
One of my student.

5. How late did you stay up last night and why?
About midnight. Watched television.

6. If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Yeah, I would like to. Somewhere where there lots of fresh rural wind.

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks?
Not yet. Is it possible?

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you on Facebook?
Uhmnnn….Veepee Elago.

9. Do you believe ex's can be friends?
I could not imagine. Haven’t tried it before.

10. How do you feel about Dr Pepper?
It taste like medicine.

11. When was the last time you cried?
About last week.

12. Who took your profile picture
My wife.

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?
My kids.

14. Was yesterday better than today?
About the same.

15. Can you live a day without TV?
No.

16. Are you upset about anything?
Yes.

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
Yes. Otherwise, I won’t be in any relationship.

18. Are you a bad influence?
No. I don’t think I am.

19. Night out or night in?
It depends.

20. What item(s) could you not go without during the day?
Watch.Clock.

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?
We are on the way…

23. How do you feel about your life right now?
Just okay.

24. Do you hate anyone?
Er…sometimes.

25. If we were to look in your Email inbox, what would we find most?
Facebook updates.

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
Yah. Right on.

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
I think once.

28. What song is stuck in your head?
Halfway To Crazy by Jesus & Mary Chain. I just listened to it after along, long time. It was one of my most fave song from college days, and perhaps of all time.

29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be?
A lotto representative…lol.

30. Wanna have grandkids before you're 50?
Well, if my kids are pretty stable by that time.

31. Name something you have to do tomorrow:
Wash my car.

32. Do you think too much or too little?
Too much.

33. Do you smile a lot?
Not so much or I’d be insane…

For this tag I am tagging Buffwings, Wileyes, Hazel, Bambit, Sam, Miss Luchie, Splice and Barrycade.

Barack Obama’s Surprise Nobel Prize Award

Global Politics, Current Events, U.S. Elections | Comments (10)

By MAJOR TOM | October 9, 2009

It’s being hailed by many as most pleasant surprise. U.S. President Barack Obama’s winning of the most prestigious humanitarian award brings forth a wind of very warm feelings across the world and as of now, the field is yet clear of any criticism.

Except for a few who sees the award as too premature, for a president who is just into his first year of office. They say, he has done nothing yet, at least, not on a long term basis.

Yet, this award is given mostly on not what he has already achieved but on what he intends to gain.

The Nobel Prize award committee in Oslo Norway, states that he is being given the prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples."

While former Nobel Prize awardee, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, sums up Obama’s award as:

"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself. He has shown an unshakable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts. He has reached out across divides and made clear that he sees the world as one human family, regardless of religion, race or ethnicity."

I fully agree with this.

President Obama’s style of diplomacy has won it all for him, reaching out to the Arab world with open palms, signifying am approach of dialogue rather than of rhetoric.

This despite that the irony remains intact, where as a U.S. President at these crucial times in global political environment, he is still so much embroiled in conflicts that has been left on his table by a former administration, with pressure in Afghanistan for surge in U.S. military presence, lest instability would inure in the South Asia region.

And just last month, Pres. Obama had to propose a missile shield of Western Europe, presumably from Russia and its allies.

The peace prize could in fact provide unnecessary pressure for Pres. Obama, now that he is seen as a global peace progenitor, when in fact as the leader of the strongest military power in the world, he is also involved in several wars and conflicts still appertaining today across the globe.

There’s so much good feeling with Obama’s winning the Nobel Peace, yet giving it to a very active and newly-installed U.S. President could bring forth some undeniable irony, if not now, then in some coming years.

The Climate Change as a Perturbing Social Issue

Earth & Environment, Science & Technology, Current Events | Comments (6)

By MAJOR TOM | October 6, 2009

The vast devastation wrought about by Typhoon Ondoy had left one lasting impression on us about climate change, as the enormous amount of rainfall that was left off by the now infamous tropical storm signaled the onset of a more cataclysmic scenario about our weather, and of our environment as whole.

There lies now the singular question: Is Mother Earth Now at the Brink of Extinction?

Is humanity’s existence threatened by these evolving circumstances especially that of global warming and climate change?

For certain, the specter of global warming is now more real than ever, a truth to be told like the sun in the sky, first as a doubtful phenomenon, even just merely a few years ago, yet now as a universal truth.

With this realization, citizens of the world should all be made aware and be conscious about the nature and implications of climate change, and most importantly governments should start addressing this issue just as any other salient social issue --- current and perturbing --- and every entity should heed and follow the directions towards minimizing its harmful effects, just like perhaps crimes in the streets, drug addiction, graft and corruption, housing or health concerns.

In actuality, it is of note that climate change as a weather phenomenon had already been happening even for millions of years and of ages ago, where the earth have already had numerous steep climate shifts so many times before, having had very cold environment during the so called Ice Ages in the Paleolithic Age while having very hot and warm weather on Interglacial periods. These radical shifts in weather are said to be as a result of the Earths changing position and distance away from the sun at any given period, having lengthened modifications in the so-called Equinox of the Earth in relation to the sun.

In fact, it was because of these shifts in climate that pre-historic humans were compelled to roam away from their natural habitat, as weather changes in those ages affects supply of food (herds migrating, vegetation disappearing), thus, the providing the basis for the scientific phenomenon of the human diaspora in pre-historic times.

An innate occurrence such as volcanic eruptions are events that could actually change the Earth’s temperature in a very radical manner, and in a very different way, as sulfur dioxides released into the atmosphere by these eruptions lowers global temperature and acts as a cooling effect, albeit provisionally.

Thus, the phenomenon of climate change is not actually an absolutely new observable fact that the Earth is facing as it had been actually happening to the earth many centuries and eons ago, through cycles of Ice Ages and Interglacial Periods, at times covering almost the entire Earth surface with ice while at other times it were heated deserts and barren plains that had dominated.

However, it is a notable circumstance that the ensuing weather alterations today are mostly due to human activities, anthropogenic in character, as against the entirely natural causes of climate changes in the past. It is unprecedented in this manner.

Waste and fumes expelled into the atmosphere resulting from the highly industrial and modern routine of today’s humanity remains the foremost cause of climate change, exuding enormous amount of carbon dioxide into the environment, trapping hot gases that should have been let-off into space naturally.

Now, it should be pointed out that since the recent version of climate change is almost purely man-made, then it could actually be reversed, of course similarly through man-made methods.

In this line, every citizen should be made aware of these circumstances, that thru collective action, the threat of global warming could be combated and dispelled away completely, by taking every day measures, like disposing garbage properly, not using harmful elements as much as possible, saving on power, and preserving natural resources. Governments on one hand should implement laws and infrastructure towards this end and execute them rigorously, such as in urban planning, an effective drainage system for one, prevention of deforestation, ban on the use of harmful chemicals, etc. --- thereon treating climate change as among the most pressing social concern that the society is facing today.

Ondoy's Unprecedented Devastation of Manila

Current Events | Comments (6)

By MAJOR TOM | September 28, 2009

Tina Palma of ABS-CBN News said this afternoon how Typhoon Ondoy's devastation of Manila was so unprecedented. With all the destruction and mayhem that was caused, I was in fact thinking whether Manila had been ravaged like this even once before.

Seeing the aftermath of the storm on television, it should be the worst catastrophe to ever hit Manila, aside from the WWII bombings it had suffered in 1945.

Two days after the storm, it becomes clearer and clearer now how utterly ravaging Ondoy was, dead bodies piling up, whole villages submerged and automobiles mowed and thrown overboard by rushing floodwater. It was the worse ever. Six months worth of rain falling in just one night, it was that horrendous.

That way, Typhoon Ondoy was so unexpected, it came on a weekend when people do not usually watch news or hear about them. It was hidden like a silent traitor, absolutely unforeseen.

Maybe next time, every incoming storm should be noteworthy for precaution and warning. And of course, preparedness for eventuality in such condition.

Experts say that storms are very hard to predict and estimate beforehand concerning its real strength and the amount of water it carries, despite advancement in geological technology.

Even in advance countries like in the US, scientists there are still not absolute about their knowledge of storm.

But I hope --- as everyone of us would--- if only it is up to us, that nothing like this would ever happen again and that in such event that storms as vicious as this ever comes to our shore again, that there'll be enough forewarning so that the populace be fully prepared for it..