Thursday, October 15, 2009

Every Passing Second is a Chance for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Redeem Herself by Turning The Philippines Around Now, Until the Next Ondoys or Ketsanas Hit the 'Pearl of the Orient' Unto Historical Oblivion

I am journalist Marc Guerrero, Filipino citizen of the world, holder of  diplomatic 'Hopenhagen' passport No 2505576438. http://hopenhagen.org

I and my colleagues in the media (in The Philippines and in more than 100 countries) at The Press for Help Project initiatives via http://younoodle.com/startups/the_press_for_help_project are One with the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen (Dec 7-18 2009), with Al Gore, and with likeminded, likehearted and likespirited individuals and groups, specially the eight-pax BAD 2009 Team of Robin Beck, a co-changemaker at Change.org in Washington DC led-inspired by Ben Ratray, Heather Graham et al, who are moving and shaking the world with Blog Action Day (BAD) 2009: Climate Change, today, the 15th of October, a day after my 48th birthday. That's BAD for any political, business, civil society and religious leaders and followers who are on the wrong side of history (specially "those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent" - chief speechwriter Jon Favreau for 44th US President Barack Hussein Obama inaugural), and I think it's good for me and my next generations! See how 20,000 BAD Australian bloggers started in 2007





THE PHILIPPINE Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA as in "hope" in Tagalog) had assigned the name "Ondoy" to three tropical cyclones in Western Pacific from 2001. There was a second Ondoy in 2005, named internationally as tropical storm Temblin. Typhoon Ketsana - the third Ondoy - on the 26th of Sept 2009 (wedding day in Los Banos, Laguna, The Philippines, of my son's best man Lythus Lobo) was the strongest Ondoy to hit Metro Manila and the almost entire country.

Wikipedia described the worse Ondoy in the Philippine climate history since Bagyong Yoling in the late-1960s that flooded the whole of Central Luzon:

"Typhoon Ketsana (international designation: 0916, JTWC designation: 17W, PAGASA name: Ondoy) formed early on September 23 2009, about 860 km (535 mi) to the northwest of Palau. The depression remained weak and was downgraded to a low pressure area later that day by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The low pressure area then reintensified early the next day and was named as Tropical Depression Ondoy by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration as the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the depression. It was then reupgraded to a tropical depression by the JMA later that morning before the JTWC followed suit early on Sept 25, designating the depression as 17W. The intensification of Ondoy was hampered throughout Sept 25 by the system moving into an area of moderate vertical windshear and an upper level trough of pressure which was moving over the system. It was then upgraded to a Tropical Storm and named as Ketsana before passing over the island of Luzon in the Philippines.



"On Sept 24, PAGASA placed the provinces of Aurora, northern Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes under Public Storm Warning Signal  No 1 which meant that winds of 30–60 km/h were expected to affect the said areas within 36 hours. After the floods struck, some were critical of the government's failure to predict the scale of the disaster, or to lessen the damage it caused.[8]


"On Sept 24, Ketsana was estimated to be 330 km northeast of Virac, Catanduanes with a maintaining speed of 55 km/h at its center.[27] A day later, Ketsana was spotted 360 km southeast of Baler, Aurora with maximum winds of 65 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 80 km/h. PAG-ASA alerted public storm signal no. 2 into the provinces of Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, and Polillo Island in Quezon.[28] On Sept 26, shortly before noon in PST (around 0400 UTC), Ketsana made its landfall at the border of Aurora and Quezon provinces, packed with maximum winds of 85 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 100 km/h.[29] At 2:00 PM PST (0600 UTC) that day, Ketsana approached Metro Manila and caused widespread flooding into the cities of Marikina, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Quezon, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Antipolo, Taguig, Valenzuela and San Juan. Flooding also occured in nearby provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and other Southern Tagalog areas. Major roads were rendered impassable because of huge flood currents and clogged cars.[29] On the same hand, air flights were canceled because of heavy rains.
Earlier, power interruptions were reported in Camarines Norte and minor landslides occurred in Camarines Sur.[29] EDSA was closed because of heavy flooding."

Nearly 500 people lost their lives at the height of the storm. Thousands more were dying on the aftermath due to continuous flooding, unattended garbage collection, unrehabilitated public works and other woes. Damage to agriculture and infrastructure was estimated by Wikipedia at PhP4.9 billion. Combined Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star and Manila Bulletin and other mainstream media accounts put the liabilities at P10 billion. NGOs were in a consensus that official and unofficial estimates could double in terms of lost business. 



I am still writing my blog action for climate change artcle in Manila now. Hang on. I'll be right back.

 

Writing on...



Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Octoberians, oxens and other oracles


Do you believe in luck? Do you believe in chance? Do you believe in destiny? Do you know how to predict your future? Do you know who you are, what you are? Do you know yourself, really?

In the Filipino language, we call them hula, suwerte, kapalaran at iba pa.

If you asked me, do I believe in the esoterica and such stuff?: Yes I do. No I do not.

Let me put it simply, if the prediction, the forecast, the hula, or the reading of dreams, etcetera, were positive, proactive, productive and progressive (translate: it will make me grow as a person with well being), I believe. If it’s negative, alarming or depressing, I don’t. Forget it!

And that is why I call these exercises, a katuwaan, or just for fun. Ready?

Today is a Wednesday, October 14, 2009 in Manila, The Philippines.




The 14th of October is the 287th day of the year (288th during leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 78 days remaining to the 31st of December 2009.

Not only do the komedyano Joey de Leon, a Filipino renaissance man, beauty queen Daisy Reyes (pa rin), music executive Sharon Dy {now, or still is (?) Law}, and politician Evelio Javier (in the league of Ninoy Aquino) were born today.

Celebrities Usher (1978), American singer and actor; Stephen Smith (1967), American sports journalist; Carole Malone (1954), English newspaper columnist; Shelley Ackerman (1953), American astrologer, writer and singer; Katha Politt (1949), American writer who had a pure Filipino name Katha; Christopher Timothy (1940), British actor; Cliff Richard (1940), English singer replicated by Filipino sugar baron and musician Jose Mari Chan; fashion designer Ralph Lauren (1939); English actor Roger Moore  (1927) of James Bond fame; ee cummings (1894), poet; Dwight Eisenhower (1890), 34th US President; and William Penn (1644), English founder of Pennsylvania, were also born today. 

Great events, both in the positive and negative lights, happened on Oct 14: The District of Columbia Bar Association in 1958 voted to accept Black Americans as members, and that is why there is Barack Obama in DC now.  In 1949, the Chinese Red Army occupied Canton (Guangzhou), and that is why Mainland Chinese had always considered themselves Communists or Reds, up to now. Winnie the Pooh, the children’s book, by AA Milne, was first published in 1926. In 1884, George Eastman patented the paper-strip photographic film, and that was why movies up to the ‘60s-‘70s were done in Eastman color. First US President George Washington proclaimed the first American Thanksgiving Day in 1789. A Canadian friend says their Thanksgiving Day falls in October. Americans moved their celebration with turkey feasts in November. I was asked, what’s the Filipino Thanksgiving Day? Marcos had his own thanksgiving on Sept 21 (the day he imposed martial law in the entire Philippines). I told my friend, Pinoys give thanks everyday, every week, every month of their lives, and not just for the blessings in every passing year.

And so I am giving thanks today for the 48 blessed years of my life. I look forward to the next 52 years in prosperity, health and peace of mind, with wisdom and impact. I wrote in a health magazine a few years back that I Shall Live Until 100, but my ideas will live for a thousand years after I moved on.

I am a Sun Libran.
In Sanskrit, the name of my Hindu astrology is Tula.

Libra is the seventh astrological sign in the Zodiac. It originated from the constellation of Libra. According to western astrologers, my sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Libra is considered a “masculine,” a positive (extrovert) sign. It is also considered an air sign and is one of four cardinal signs. I am ruled by the planet Venus that also rules Taurus. Being the seventh sign of the zodiac, Libra has been associated with the astrological seventh house, wrote the wikidotters in the Wikipedia.
According to Astrology.com, the Seventh House is commonly referred to as the House of Partnership. With this House, we see a shift away from the self toward another – a partner. By cooperating with, and relating to, another, we unite for the purpose of achieving something. Purpose is important to the Seventh House, the act of accomplishing something great or small for the self, the partnership, and even society as a whole. In uniting with another, we also become a more valuable member of our world: we make a contribution, one small cog in the wheel of life. We have purpose. Cooperation and partnership help to expedite our purpose in life.

I am an Oxen, not a cow (Korea) but a water buffalo (Chinese) or carabao in The Philippines. I am a Metal Oxen like Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. With all due respect, Mr Obama is not the first black president, our own Carlos P Garcia (tanned or dark as the kayumanggi can be) was “black Filipino,” in jest, of course. 




                                                                               

In a quick-drive through the Hub Pages, a posting from a Chinese who goes by the lunar calendar revealed, Obama, born on the 4th of August 1961 (he is also 48 this year), is a metal ox.

He described the metal oxen as “a gentleman and a man who is very sure of himself.” They are often brilliant at what they chose to do in life and because of this they usually rise to positions of leadership quite easily.
Ox men, just like ox women, should never be underestimated. Often people make the mistake of underestimating them because of their cool, calm and quiet exterior – this is always a mistake. When an ox makes up his or her mind to do something, nothing at all can stop them.

Ox men read widely, they are well rounded and can engage in brilliant conversation that is full of substance. They respect people who have genuine knowledge of the topic at hand. However, in all cases, action speaks louder than words for the ox; you have to be able to back up your talk.

Ox people like Obama prefer people who are confident and sure of themselves, and who act and live accordingly. This applies to both men and women.

Hub added, Oxens in general are not considered romantic in the Hollywood sense of the word. Rather, the ox people are truly passionate and capable of great love and genuine loyalty. He won't give you diamonds and furs - again the Hollywood flash is not appealing when it comes to giving or receiving gifts, but he will give gifts of love that are practical, like a house, a car, investments, etc.

You won't attract this man with cheap seductive tricks. It is far better to respect his intellect and be a match for it.

My one birthday wish?: Be ‘One’ with me in my humanitarian pet program: “The Press for Help Project.” Request your invite from http://www.younoodle.com/startups/the_press_for_help_project and http://www.zazengo.com/projects/628.#

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Bloggers are not just journalists, they are the new publishers and producers, editors and news managers, columnists, photographers and artists

Bloggers are journalists. Bloggers are more than journalists.

Move over, mainstream media. Here comes you, me, them, and We, the Media!

YouMedia and WeMedia are more interactive, more convergent, more interlinked and more interconnected with their newssources and newsmakers than the socalled mainstream media.

They can report the news, spice the news up with better features, and churn out their own first-person views, if not those of third parties, solicited or not, regarding any one or all personalities, events, places and passions, inside and out, up close and personal.

Compared to mainstream journalists, bloggers can report the news (as is, where is) and disseminate their news and views, in real time. You need not wait for the early- or late-night news on TV or tomorrow's edition of the newspaper to get any news live, and the protagonists and antagonists, alive, in living color, so to speak.

Add on to weblogging the socalled Web 2.0 social networking platforms, from Facebook and Twitter, to MySpace and Friendster, etcetera, and what will you get: It's the future of news. It's social media. It's future is now.

Declares Arianna Huffington, queen ant-and-bee of the online Washington Postish-wannabe at http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=120584762130:

"Despite all the current hand-wringing about the dire state of newspapers, we are actually in the midst of a Golden Age for news consumers. We can surf the net, use search engines, access the best stories from around the world, and interact by commenting and forming communities.
"The days of publishing pooh-bahs dictating to us what's important and what's not are over. We now can get the news we want, when we want it, how we want it and where we want it.
"The Web has given us control over the news we consume. Now the explosive growth of online social networking is fundamentally changing our relationship with news as well. It's no longer something we passively take in. We now engage with news, react to news and share news.
"News has become an important element of community — something around which we gather, connect and converse. We all are part of the evolution of a story now — expanding it with comments and links to relevant information, adding facts and differing points of view.
"In short, the news has become social. And it will become even more community-powered: stories will be collaboratively produced by editors and the community, and conversations, opinion, and reader reactions will be seamlessly integrated into the news experience..."

But, of course, press freedom and related freedom of expression of bloggers, so with print or broadcast journalists, should be more responsible and more responsive to the call of the times. That can make bloggers as "more effective and more efficient" advocacy journalists, specially, if and when he or she practices the ethics and standards of decent, good taste, and fit to publish blog posts for all the world to take a quick-read or study in full.

Marc my word, bloggers as journalists and journalists as bloggers both deserve the same respect we accord the big and small professional practitioners of the fourth estate (the press and the media). Bloggers who are dubbed to belong to the "fifth estate" of the web's blogosphere have rights, too.

When in doubt, please refer to http://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal regarding the legal rights of webloggers. Feel free to discuss its merits and demerits, uphold it, sustain it, improve upon it, and live it.

Monday, October 12, 2009

I take offense

I find these Blogger notices offensive.
Whether they are done by robots or humans, as a legitimate user I am offended by the nasty notifications below:

https://www.blogger.com/blogin.g?blogspotURL=http://cuzmarc.blogspot.com/

Possible Blogger Terms of Service Violations

This blog is currently under review due to possible Blogger Terms of Service violations.
If you're a regular reader of this blog and are confident that the content is appropriate, feel free to click "Proceed" to proceed to the blog. We apologize for the inconvenience.
If you're an author of this blog, please follow the instructions on your dashboard for removing this warning page.
                                                                                    PROCEED
  
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Here's another nasty notice when I accessed my Blogger admin panel:
Marc My Word
3 Posts, last published on Oct 11, 2009 – View Blog View Blog in New Window
 Edit Posts  Settings  Layout  Monetize
This blog has been identified as a potential spam blog. Your readers will see a warning page until the blog is reviewed.
This blog will be deleted within 20 days unless you request a review.

-

Now I want you to tell me, dear technocrats at Blogger.com, what's "irrelevant, repetitive, or nonsensical text"  in my blog posts? Don't your robots or robotic humans understand the Filipino language or what is commonly the Tagalog language?
To "what single site" do you think my "large number of links" are pointing? Is there such a single site? Do you consider Ads by Google spamming?
Blogger.com easily brands or labels new weblogs as potential spam blogs (specially if they are created from The Philippines and done by Filipinos, even as Filipinos overseas who number an average 10 million, are living elsewhere in over 100 countries worldwide), but it is taking quite some time to review, decide, realize and mark weblogs as legitimate and nonspam, and therefore, unlock so that real internet freedom may be served well; why and how come?
I want to seek the opinion of the Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF), and perhaps, the InternetEvolution.com (IE)'s, too, about the foregoing issues.
Bloggers have rights, as well as responsibilities, I believe. Inadvertent as the mis-labeling or mis-branding may be, but it is really offending the sensibilities of real people who were nurtured in real cultures.



Sunday, October 11, 2009

In case you did not know...

Emmanuel Mario B Santos also known as Marc Guerrero (I am turning 48 on the 14th of October) of Manila, The Philippines, is a writer & journalist; editor & translator; lecturer, author & critic; historian & futurist; and an entrepreneur for many years. He is CEO of Marc Guerrero Communications Inc. He publishes and produces a lifetime body of media works that make use of his studies, experience and expertise in management, governance and servant leadership more appropriately, for the common good. 

Marc Guerrero Communications Inc is an independent strategic media corporation engaged in media management, marketing communications, public relations and transformative technologies development. (read on)


I believe

As a practising professional journalist for 20 years, and before that for more than 10 years as a campus journalist, I was nurtured, have always believed in, and upheld the great principles of freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, right to information, respect for intellectual property rights, right to privacy, and related civil liberties.

The Philippines was a co-founder of the United Nations in 1945. The UN's Carlos Pena Romulo, a journalist before he became a diplomat, whom General Douglas MacArthur often referred to as "The General," our longest-serving Foreign Affairs Secretary who had earned the reverence of the world diplomatic community to address him as "Mr United Nations," and whom I had the honor of working with at my first newspaper job when I was 16 years old, was the longest-living signatory to the UN Charter until the 1980s.

That's my liberal and libertarian origin and foundation.

I also believe that journalism should be in synergy with truth in advertising, advocacy in public relations, and fair marketing practice.

In my book, however, freedom is not absolute.

Without responsibility and responsiveness to the call of the times, freedom is useless.

Freedom then becomes just an idea, not an ideal.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Welcome to marcmyword, Mabuhay!

marcmyword at http://cuzmarc.blogspot.com is the official weblog of journalist Marc Guerrero.

This was the title of his column at an artists organization journal called Balitaktakan (spinoff of Awit ala News) in the 1980s.

marcmyword is a blog from nothing to something to anything under the sun, the moon, stars and the universes - yours, mine and theirs.

This is dedicated to you.

Iangat ang mga tunay na Sikat: Ikaw.

You
are the shining light of this obra: your think-piece, your feel-piece that will inspire upon you to act, to do, to be and to become.

marcmyword shall be all yours, from this day onwards... faithfully!

Pagpalain,
Marc Guerrero
theinstitute.tel
marcguerrero.com