THE CITIZEN ON MARS

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.

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 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.

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..

I came across a very informative article of former NEDA chief Cielito Habito “Where Did the Growth Come From?”, discussing the very current debacle of global recession and how the Philippines have somehow found a way to snuggle away from it, insulating itself from it effectively and even posting growth figures as opposed to other contracting economies worldwide. This situation had even gained the Philippines some notable commendations from veritable financial institutions abroad.

However, Mr. Habito pointed out mainly to 'government spending' as the main and only instigator of such growth, increasing demand through construction activities thereby allowing job generation as such. In fact, significant sectors like agriculture and manufacturing had contracted or decreased.

This tells us how fragile is the basis of our economic growth even to the extent of artificiality, when purely government spending is mostly depended on and none much else. As Mr. Habito had pointed out, increased government spending means increased government debt and this is not a good situation at all.

Somehow, this kind of strategy is deemed commendable as even America implements the so-called stimulus fund to augur in public consumption, in order to enthuse market activities. It was smart maneuvering on the part of our government.

Although in simpler mathematics, it would still be a negative. How long can we lift up the economy using artificial means and planned intervention?

Public consumption aside from those generated by government spending should be instigated by all means.

Mr. Habito views the housing sector to be one good area where government should focus on as it has that multiplier effect of generating more jobs (being labor intensive) and encouraging increased manufacturing activities.