Ten Things About Me and the ZTE
1. Sec. Romulo Neri is making waves without rocking the boat at all! After all the suspense and drum-beating about being "ready to lose his job" on account of appearing before the Senate to testify on the NBN ZTE contract, it was quite lame
2. Fleeting thought: Sen. Miriam has no business diverting the issue with theatrics and rascist remarks on how the "Chinese invented corruption". Especially when some Filipinos are developing it to such an appallingly sophisticated degree.
3. It's nice to see how the NBN ZTE controversy has generated a lot of inspired and lively blog entries. I had so much fun reading Ina's blow-by-blow account of the Senate hearings yesterday and Pangkulitan's not-so-flattering comparisons between past and present Presidential spouses. After a brief hiatus from blogging, the husband writes about how the Philippines needs a national information network, not corrupt deals such as ZTE nor profit-hungry schemes. But the best thing I've read so far is Kapirasong Kritika's 'Mga Placard ng Panahon ng ZTE" (wala ka talagang kupas, Teo!).
4. Let your protests register on cyberspace! Sign the online petition by the Computer Professionals Union (CPU) to scrap the ZTE NBN contract.
5. I'm getting the last song syndrome (LSS) from hearing the ZTE ringtone by Txtpower. Husband and several other people I know have it on their cellphones, and every now I find myself accidentally humming to the ABC-ZTE-FG jingle.
6. In addition to the ZTE NBN contract, the Arroyo administration is planning to enter into other deals with the Chinese government and private firms, this time involving agricultural and bioethanol production. These, too, should be scrutinized, for their impacts on the people's livelihood and the environment . Among the MOAs that the government is planning to sign is between Yong Kai Industry Group and the Negros Southern Integrated Biofuels Company and BM SB Integrated Biofuels Company, whose biggest stockholder is a close friend of Presidential brother-in-law Ignacio Arroyo. Remember that Iggy Arroyo did not want CARP to be extended to prevent it from covering their sugar farms in Central Negros, which he is reportedly eyeing as an entry point for future biofuel projects. Is this another ZTE in the making?
7. Ang galing ng kuha ng Inquirer kay Abalos at Neri (left). A good photograph can indeed tell more than words.
8. "Big fish"Abalos should just tell all he knows and pinpoint the "Mother of All Fishes". Tutal sila-sila naman ang naglalaglagan!
9. Around 75% of all Filipinos are poor, have no access to technology and the government services that will "benefit" from the ICT infrastructure that the NBN will put in place. Yet it is this 75% who w
ill foremost be shouldering the tax burden that the ZTE NBN contract will bring about.10. Coinciding with the ZTE controversy is the Philippine's all-time low ranking (133 out of 179) in the Corruption Perception Index. Take note that the Philippines is already ranking as among the worst in other areas, such as recent press freedom indexes, and even in environmental degradation surveys (such as the recent one pinpointing the rivers in Bulacan as among the world's 'Dirty 30').
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Mong tagged me a month ago, I noticed only now (sorry, Mong!).
According to Mong's post: A person who gets tagged must write in his or her blog ten weird things or habits or little known facts about himself or herself. He or she should also state this rule clearly. At the end, he or she should tag six other people, except the one who tagged him or her.
So here goes--ten "weird" things about lisa:
1. When typing, my left hand automatically presses the save controls (Ctrl+S) on my keyboard every few seconds or so. This habit started way back in the Collegian. An article I was typing for one and a half days straight (without sleep and with very little food) literally vanished without a trace after a power surge because I--stupid writer--failed t
o hit the save button all throughout. Since then I kept hitting Ctrl+S like my life depended on it. People used to wonder what the crap was wrong with my left pinky finger and I always have to explain why. 2. I still drink Yakult. Because it tastes good.
3. When I entered the university, I was the lone Art History major in a college with a student population of around 300. It was ironic because I refrained from applying as a Painting major mostly since I thought that there were too few students in their program (around 20).
4. I have this nasty nervous habit of pulling out my hair when stressed out or worried, to the point of creating bald patches if left unchecked. Dermatology and psychology textbooks refer to this as trichotillomania, a minor anxiety-related disorder.
5. Maldita daw ako when I was a kid. Afterwards, I got all the 'Best in Conduct' awards in grade school and ended up as my high school's awardee for "National Discipline", heheh. Only shows that I know when to behave and when to raise hell!
6. I dislike hanging bridges. But that doesn't mean I won't cross them.7. My first (and hopefully last) TV appearance was at 12 or 13 years old, at a kiddie noontime show with other half-Japanese children. All of us were wearing kimonos
and singing a children's song. At that time, we were part of an organization of half-Japanese families in Paranaque. This group mostly got together for Nihongo lessons and field trips, but did a one-shot "performance" for that show's RP-Japan Friendship Day chuva. Thanks to this, I realized that I would never make it in showbiz early on.8. Before becoming an activist, I also became involved in the following other organizations from grade school to college: Girl Scouts, Peer Counselors Club, Archdiocesian Youth Council, Red Cross Youth, Artists Club, Youth for Christ, and Kontra-Gapi. In that order.
9. I always bring along a small plastic container filled with things for imagined emergencies. Contents for now include
USBs, a Bayan Muna pin, a stapler and a box of staple wire, rainbow face paint (for rallies), paper book tabs, band aids, a liquid eraser pen, an invisible ink pen, a spotlight, triple A batteries, wet wipes, and a Swiss knife.10. My husband says that I sneeze and cough like a cat (imagine that!).
Tama na sa blogging! Back to work!
