ATM Brownout?

A while back I was having trouble finding a working ATM at the mall.  There used to be a line-up of four ATM's I could rely on but they were removed and replaced by four different machines in another place inside the mall.  None of the new machines accept my card and what used to be quite easy has become a bit of a hassle. I think the reason the machines don't take my card is because none of the replacement ATM's are affiliated with a bank.  So that leaves me with BDO.

There is a BDO branch in the mall but both of their ATM's were offline so I trudged back across the mall to where I knew there was a third BDO machine.  This is what I came across:

No Power? Brownout!?  The kiosk light is on!  What Brownout!??

  

It's scary enough having my card rejected by these machines because I'm not sure if it's the machine or if my bank has put a hold on my card because I have made too many withdrawal attempts. But stupidity like this is completely dumbfounding.

Well it was worth a laugh I guess.

I did manage to find a fourth BDO machine that was working.

But why is such a hassle to use the ATM in the Philippines in the first place? Why does the bank allow the machines to run out of money? Why is it always a gamble whether or not the machine is online? Why do people take so long to do one transaction? Why aren't there more ATM's to ease the long lines? Why did the mall replace four ATM's connected to major banks with four no-name ATM's that not everyone can use? Why do ATM's dispense only large bills for which no one has change?

Why have an ATM in operation if no one can withdraw money? What's the point of that? Who uses an ATM just to check their balance?

Just more questions with no answers.

Everything is Hearsay!

Critic of President Dutere and his war on drugs Agnes Callamard is in the country to give a speech at the University of the Philippines about the war on drugs.  Shenanigans ensued immediately upon her arrival.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/17/un-rapporteurs-wikipedia-page-defaced-upon-visit-to-ph

Hours after the arrival of Agnes Callamard in the Philippines, a paragraph accusing her of being "a highly paid consultant of the Liberal Party of the Philippines dedicated into overthrowing one of the best President (Duterte) the country has ever had" (sic) appeared on her Wikipedia page.

Who did it?  WHO CARES!?  

Duterte supporters will say the Liberals did it to discredit them.  Liberals will say Duterte supporters did it because they are intellectually dishonest.

Tis merely a symptom of the political disunity which has sharply divided the Philippines. Everyone  is a loser in this battle.

More important are remarks said by Salvador Panelo, Chief legal advisor to Duterte.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/156125/panelo-callamards-conclusions-drug-war-based-hearsay

“She just cannot come here and read newspaper reports and hear the talks of some critics and watch some videos and make a conclusion that there is something wrong the way this government is doing its job,” Panelo told reporters in an interview.

“First, how did she know that that’s the way the drug operations are being conducted? What’s the basis?” Panelo said. 

“What I’m questioning is the basis of her conclusion, which is based on hearsay and some reports coming from whoever and from wherever,” he added. “It’s not an independent study. It’s not an objective study. It’s just a conclusion on the basis of things that she heard.” 

“She was saying she read reports. She saw some videos. And on the basis of that, she made a conclusion that the operation against the drug menace in this country is wrong,” he added. “How can she make that kind of conclusion when she only read the reports of some people and saw some videos?”

Panelo says that Callamard cannot base her conclusions on newspaper reports or videos or on "things she has heard."  

She needs to be objective and have an indent study to ascertain the truth of what is really happening.  

Fair enough.  Right?  Wrong!

Go through those statements and replace "she" and "her" with "Filipino citizens" and "they."  The only way for anyone to know anything about what is going on with the government, with the drug war, with anything they are not personally acquainted with is through the media: newspapers and video and yes even "things they have heard."

What Panelo is admitting is that Filipinos, and the entire world, cannot trust Philippine media to tell the truth. That everything being reported in the media is a lie.  That the only way to know the truth is to actually investigate it for yourself.

Many would agree that the media is not reporting the truth.  

They are wrong.

Did Duterte visit the Middle East?  Did Duterte host the ASEAN 2017 summit? Has Duterte launched a war on drugs?  Did a former beauty queen get shot in the face?  Is Agnes Callamard in the country? Did Salvador Panleo make the statements above about Agnes Callamard? Is Abu Sayyaf expanding operations to the Visayas?

According to the newspapers and videos and "things people have said" the answer is "Yes."

According to Panleo the answer is "I don't know!"

This extreme skepticism is known as Pyrronhism.

The main principle of Pyrrho’s thought is expressed in the word acatalepsia, implying that one cannot possibly know the true nature of things. For any given statement the opposite may be advanced with equal reason. 

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Pyrrho_and_pyrrhonism

Such skepticism serves no one and brings no one closer to the truth.

Those who like Panelo would abjure the media as nothing but lies are liars themselves and seek to cover up their misdeeds which the media reports.

"You can't trust the newspapers," they say in a newspaper article or in a news video.

And not seeing the irony, Filipinos nod their heads in agreement and post about it on Facebook.

Instead of rejecting the media outright and abandoning ourselves to skepticism let's learn how to read and discern properly.

Is it time to kill Duterte?

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/01/17/1543436/duterte-kill-me-if-i-dont-resolve-crimes-6-months

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte made the call urging Filipinos to kill him if he cannot resolve heinous crimes and illegal drugs within the first six months of his administration if elected president. 

“If I succeed perhaps that would be my greatest contribution to the country, but if I fail, kill me,” Duterte told the crowd during a book launching Thursday at Century Park Hotel in Manila.

"If I fail, kill me."

Strong words from a man who prides himself on his honesty and integrity.  So has crime been resolved since Duterte took the oath of office on June 30, 2016? Six months bring us to the end of December and into 2017.  Is the Philippines crime and drug free in 2017?

February 03, 2017

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/867926/afp-3-soldiers-killed-by-npa-had-at-least-24-gunshots-each

February 28, 2017

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/27/asia/philippines-german-behead-abu-sayyaf/

March 03, 2017

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/03/03/1677400/woman-strangles-3-kids

March 20, 2017

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2017/03/20/p33-million-shabu-seized-cops-pdea-532125

April 6, 2017

http://www.philstar.com/metro/2017/04/06/1688061/boc-seizes-marijuana-shipped-canada

April 7, 2017

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/887221/ex-bulacan-beauty-queen-shot-dead-after-receiving-gifts-from-2-men

April 22, 2017

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170422/p2g/00m/0dm/008000c

April 25, 2017

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/04/25/1693818/npa-kills-zamboanga-del-sur-barangay-chair-allowing-troops-village

April 29, 2017

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/04/29/1695072/13-hurt-quiapo-blast

May 02, 2017

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/893605/p2-m-high-grade-shabu-seized-at-batangas-port

Heinous crimes have not stopped. Abu Sayyaf, The NPA, Maute Group and other terrorist organisations are all active and continue to kill civilians and soldiers. Abu Sayyaf is even seeking to extend it's activities into the Visayas.  The blood spilled by communist and Islamic terrorists continues to flow and shows no sign of abatement.

People continue to be violent towards one another. Daily there are reports of killings motivated by revenge, while under the influence of drugs, or out of the inexplicable evil of the heart. Gangs continue to proliferate violence. Women continue to be exploited throughout the country. The Philippines remains a global leader in manufacturing child pornography.

Huge amounts of drugs are routinely seized at customs and in raids across the country. This indicates that there is a market for drugs. There are still addicts in the country and there are still pushers willing to risk everything to import massive amounts of shabu and other drugs. The violent drug war has not eradicated the drug trade or drug use.

The PNP continues to be a corrupt organisation with the CHR recently finding a dozen inmates packed together in a tiny secret jail cell behind a wooden cabinet.  PNP chief Bato even admits the cell was illegal while he continues to defend the police who utilised it. The head of the PNP defends the corruption of the PNP calling it "necessary."

Nothing has changed since Duterte took office. It is business as usual in the Philippines. And that means the business of crime and corruption at every level of society.

Duterte's promise to resolve heinous crimes and drugs within 6 months has gone unfulfilled. He has failed.

So is it time to take him at his word?  

Is it time to kill Duterte?

Geckos: Common and Special

The common house gecko is all over the place here in the Philippines.  They are great for pest control. This gecko is out and about all day and all night scaling the walls, clicking its tongue, and scrounging for insects to eat.

He's just waiting for his meal to show up

However, sometimes they can be quite the problem. Especially when they crawl into places and die. You won't know what's happened until you encounter a putrid smell or see a long train of ants.  Once there were ants all over the rice cooker and when it was taken apart there were four dead lizards who had managed to sneak inside where all the wires are.  The heat undoubtedly cooked them all to death.

They also tend to get squished in the door jamb especially on windy days when the door is blown shut suddenly.  But you won't notice until the smell or the ants come.

This one died in the refrigerator

Smushed in the door

Another lizard smushed in the door jamb 

Aside from getting squished in doors and dying in hard to reach places the gecko also leaves its droppings all over the place on both the walls and the floor.  It is possible, as a gecko scurries across the ceiling, a dropping could fall fresh from the source and into your coffee.

Along with the smaller geckos there is also the large Tokay Gecko.  

Loud and fierce

The tokay gecko is a bit more special and rarer sight because he only comes out at night. The call of the tokay gecko is a loud and unmistakable croak. They will make a home in your rafters or in the trees. While they look and sound fierce tokay geckos are mostly harmless and also eat insects. However, the droppings they leave behind are much larger than the other geckos.

An unfortunate collateral victim in the war against mice

Tokay geckos will hide in your walls

The tokay gecko remains in high demand throughout Asia as a miracle cure for cancer, AIDS, impotence, and other ailments.  Such claims are unfounded but persistent. The perception of the tokay gecko as a miracle cure puts them in danger as a species and also puts the patient's health at risk for consuming them.

The Philippines' government in July also warned that using geckos to treat AIDS and impotence may put patients at risk. 

The geckos, popular as pets in Asia, have long been used as traditional medicine for illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, skin disease and cancer, the report said. Their carcasses are dried up and ground into powder for consumption. In some parts of Asia, Tokay wine or whisky is consumed to boost energy.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/wild-claims-asian-geckos-cure-aids-dangerous-species-conservation-group-article-1.978296 

If you don't want these lizards in your home it is easy to capture and release them elsewhere. There is no need to exterminate the geckos. Or eat them. Or sell or use them as medicine. They are your friends. Just make sure to clean up their droppings and watch out for their rotting corpses.

We Are Collapsing

"You say you want a revolution? Well, you know we all want to change the world"

-The Beatles

Filipinos are some of the most politically active people on the planet.  They spend the most time on social media and it's not all sharing funny videos and pictures. A lot of it is activism.  Getting the truth out.  Informing the people about the dark secrets of politicians which everyone knows are there but can't quite grasp because they are not insiders.

Enter We Are Collective.

In March of this year they published part 1 of a proposed 3 part series titled: "Deception."  This series was to expose the rise of Leni Robredo and the evil misdeeds of her late husband.  

The exposé dropped like a bombshell.  Leni responded.  Esquire magazine responded. WAC lost their webpage and was banned from Facebook.  They had published the truth and now were suffering martyrdom.  The Yellow party had smacked them down with all their might and this was justification enough in the eyes of man. Why would the Yellow Party even bother to take down WAC if WAC was not telling the truth?? 

WAC vowed to rise again. They said "You can't cut down the Hydra."  WAC promised to release even more damaging material.

All throughout April they teased they had finally put together part 2.  They made movie-style character posters.  

They made wild speculations about Jesse having a love child.  They defended all their actions saying they are only speculating and considering what could be and looking at every angle.  It doesn't matter if  what they are writing is true because as long as they search for the truth it will surface.

All this in the run up to May 1 when they promised to publish part 2 of "Deception."  

Finally the big day comes.  8am.....10am.....12pm......3pm......and then finally!

Deception 2 will be posted here at 10:00pm Philippine time.  

Instead of uploading the whole piece as one, we are considering serializing the upload. We will be posting the article chapter by chapter, with three hour intervals, to make it easier for you at para hindi kayo malula sa haba kagaya ng dati.

At 5pm WAC finally makes an announcement that we have to wait 5 more hours to get part 1 of part 2!

They decided to serialise it all on Facebook rather than publish the whole thing in one go somewhere else.  Why? Because they have no respect for their readers!  They think their readers cannot handle a long exposé like last time. The think their readers are dumb.

Ulitin namin ha. We're posting it in intervals. To make it more digestible. Not everyone matyaga magbasa. Experience kasi natin dati pag isahang upload people tend to skip some parts. Kung sa pelikula nagfafast forward dahil tinitingnan yung haba. Let's be relaxed this time. The downloadable format will be available after. Thanks!

Nothing to do but wait. Finally 10pm comes around and they actually deliver part 1 of part 2.

https://www.facebook.com/wearecollectivephilippines/posts/254952204979203

Great now we only have to wait 3 hours or so and then part 2 of part 2 will be published.  

But nothing came.  We waited all day and nothing came.  People started getting restless. Trolls came out.  Allegations that the Yellows had sabotaged WAC floated around.  And then around 5pm we get this notice from Darwin Cañete:

Everyone is posting on WAC's FB page wondering what happened and Darwin Cañete cannot relay this message on WAC's FB page where everyone will see it?  Someone else has to grab a screenshot and post it?? What a joke!!  Not to mention that the content of the message is a lie.  WAC's FB page has not been taken down for any reason. Everyone and anyone can comment on WAC's page.

This has been a fiasco from the get-go. WAC's decision to publish ONLY on Facebook and in a serialised form really screwed everything up.  But perhaps not. They admit that this is all a work in progress.  Maybe what they published so far is all they have.

If WAC had any real information and really cared about getting it out to the people they would not have published solely on Facebook.  They would have put it on Pastebin, Scribd, Archive, a throwaway blogspot or wordpress page, or any number of places.  They would have published it all in one go and also had it divided up into smaller packages if they were concerned about their readers not being able to handle so much information.

This is not a Yellow conspiracy to bury the truth!

This is all the result of WAC's incompetence or a cover for their complete lack of any information.

Today is May 3 and people are still waiting.  I have hunch they will be waiting for a long while yet.

The Philippines Needs A Revolution

There is  petition circulating on Change.org asking that Duterte be granted "revolutionary powers."

https://www.change.org/p/the-people-of-the-philippines-to-grant-revolutionary-powers-to-president-rodrigo-duterte

 The accompanying letter reads thus:

Letter to

The People of the Philippines 

My friends and I share the sentiments of many of our FB friends who have called for action to help our President. We are raring to go just like many of you but we have to have a decisive action. 

This political battle is a numbers game. If we claim to have that numbers then we have won. But we just have to show it and use it. We can use our numbers to grant revolutionary powers to President Duterte. 

In EDSA 1986, more than two million people granted Cory Aquino revolutionary powers. They claimed to be representatives of the sovereign will of our people. Cory used this to issue Proclamation # 3 to install a revolutionary government and to adopt a provisional constitution. Can we do this? I believe so. It is not exclusive to the forces of EDSA 86. 

This is what we want to do. We want to initiate a campaign to mobilize the 21 million voters of the President so they can grant him revolutionary powers and do what Cory did. You may call this a campaign to give the opposition a dose of their own medicine. This campaign is to help empower our President to accomplish his task of bringing change in our country. 

We have a number to reach and even go beyond it. Cory Aquino needed only two million people to be granted with revolutionary powers. And 17 million people to ratify the 1987 Constitution. 

We need a united front effort to surpassed the 2 million mark. 

We can start with an internet campaign and when we have the numbers, we can converge to grant President Duterte the revolutionary power. 

We can start small. Remember, revolutions were started by a small group of patriots. We can start where we are with our family, relatives and friends. 

Never despise a small beginning. Remember, the flap of a butterfly can create a tornado. We just have to continue to love our people and believe that we are doing this for them. And by the grace of God, we can succeed. 

We are not really that small. In fact, there are more than 21 million Filipinos waiting and eager to come into action. We just have to join hands and move as one. All Duterte supporters must come together. 

This must be a people’s initiative to reflect the true will of the Filipino people. We have to put up our own provisions to accomplish this.

This is our idea of a decisive action to take. An idea of putting our sentiments into action. What do you think? Can we do this? Will you be part of it? Will you help? 

If you are willing, we will start it. 

We do not desire to lead you. We have to lead ourselves and work together if we want real change be made in our country. We must be driven to do this by our love for our country.

What is this letter even saying?  Is the petitioner unhappy with the 1987 constitution? It seems as if that is the case.  It seems as if the complaint is that Cory Aquino was "granted with revolutionary powers" and that she created a new constitution that is now being used to hamper Duterte in his plans to "accomplish his task of bringing change in our country."

Let's analyse this petition starting with this outlandish claim:

The sovereign will of the Filipino has been hijacked by the political elite and the oligarchy.  They re-engineered our constitution and system of government in 1986  to protect their own selfish interest and perpetuate control over our nation.

How has the sovereign will of the people been hijacked when Cory Aquino had the people behind her. The petitioner contradicts himself:

Cory Aquino needed only two million people to be granted with revolutionary powers. And 17 million people to ratify the 1987 Constitution. 

A nationwide vote on the constitution was held in 1987 and it was ratified.  How is that a hijacking of the sovereign will of the people?

The petitioner does not say. He simply makes baseless assertions and does not attempt to demonstrate the truth of said assertions.

Next:  

Our system of government cannot help us. It was designed to work against us. It cannot be harnessed to achieve real change. It is manipulated by the political opposition to prevent President Rodrigo Duterte from accomplishing his job. It is being used to oust him.

How was the 1987 constitution designed to work against the people?  How is the constitution being manipulated to impede Duterte from doing his job?  

The petitioner does not say.  

And finally:

The only way to bring order in our political system and be able to pursue a real change in our country is through a revolutionary government.

We want to initiate a campaign to mobilize the 21 million voters of the President so they can grant him revolutionary powers and do what Cory did. 

What is meant by "revolutionary government?"  What "revolutionary powers" are to be granted to Duterte?

What does the petitioner mean by "do what Cory did?"  Does he want Duterte to dismiss everyone in congress, dismiss duly elected officials throughout the country, and draft a new constitution?  That is the essence of dictatorship. What's the problem with the current constitution?

Again the petitioner does not say.  

There is nothing specific in this petition. There is no list of grievances and how to fix them. Filipinos are not happy with their government. They know they have been raked over the coals for far too long. Beyond encapsulating the current zeitgeist of discontent for the government this petition is worthless. 

This is less a petition and more an emotional outburst. 

There are 7,864 supporters who have signed this petition and the reasons given are not very hopeful and indicate the most have not given any real thought to the content of the petition.  Most just say "I support Duterte."  One signatory seems to have a firmer grasp on the issues at hand.

100% tax rate????  This person does not know what they are talking about. 

https://www.bir.gov.ph/index.php/tax-information/income-tax.html#it0012

I agree that the Philippines needs a revolution and a revolutionary government.  They can start with these very revolutionary words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

What the Philippines absolutely does not need is power consolidated in the hands of one man.  No people need a dictator. 

Like the rest of the world what the Philippines needs are statesmen who understand politics and the art of statecraft. Men who understand the people and their needs.  Filipinos who love their country and would pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour to serve it.  Not men who would use their office as a cloak for plundering the national treasury and enriching themselves. 

Politicians serving the people and not themselves?

Now that's a revolution everyone can get behind!

Pacquiao for President

Boxing superstar and Philippines Senator Manny Pacquiao is set to step back into the ring on July 2nd which has people asking, "When will Manny ever be done with boxing and focus on his job as a politician?"

Coach Freddie Roach has the answer.

http://www.philstar.com/sports/2017/04/27/1694428/roach-pacquiao-retire-boxing-when-he-runs-president

Hahaha!  Right?  I mean surely this is just a joke Roach is making during a press conference.  Just being light-hearted and.......

http://www.thenational.ae/sport/other-sport/boxer-manny-pacquiao-to-consider-running-for-philippines-president

http://sports.inquirer.net/179724/pacquiao-eyes-philippine-presidency

http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/17/16/duterte-pacquiao-will-be-president-someday

Looks like it's not a joke at all.

Manny Pacquiao can certainly run for president in the 2022 elections but that will not guarantee a win.  The people have to elect him.  If Manny Pacquio wins the 2022 presidential election it will be solely the fault of the Filipino people.  They will be the ones who cast the votes.  They will be the ones who demand Manny Pacquiao occupy the highest office in the land. They will be the ones to hand the reigns of power to him.

Is he capable of such a responsibility?

Pacquiao actually tried retirement for a while—after defeating Timothy Bradley in April last year and momentarily shifting his focus to politics—but decided he can’t just leave the boxing spotlight. He returned just a few months later to take on Jessie Vargas, ending his brief hiatus. 

The Horn fight, Roach added, will show whether Pacquiao can indeed juggle boxing and his work as a Philippine senator. 

“He is a good test for us to see where we’re at this point. If we do or don’t continue, how much is being a senator [affecting] training for Manny Pacquiao. The camp went really well when he was a congressman. Congressman is not quite as demanding as a senator. That remains to be seen,” he explained. 

http://www.philstar.com/sports/2017/04/27/1694428/roach-pacquiao-retire-boxing-when-he-runs-president

The primal call of the fight is too strong for Pacquaio to resist. Surely by 2022 he will be too old to fight.  Too tired.  Maybe even punch drunk. But if he does retire the Presidency is much more demanding then being either a Congressman or a Senator and if he can't handle the demands of either of those offices then how can he expect to handle the presidency?

It is fitting that the boxer who would be president is a member of PDP-Laban whose logo is a fist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP–Laban

If Manny runs and wins it will only be because his opponent will be a corrupt Yellow party member. With the election of Duterte Filipinos have shown that they don't want the LP in power anymore.  They don't want more corruption.  They want an honest man who will fight for them and save the country.

How sad that there are no Philippine politicians who fit that bill.