Lyrics

(Photo from Associated Press. Used without permission)

Wowowee
(Lito Camo)

Sa Luzon, sa Visayas, at sa Mindanao
Saan man sulok ng mundo
Makakasama nyo
Magbibigay saya sa bawat isa
At maghahatid ng kakaibang ligaya

Kadugo, kababayan at kapamilya
Sa bawat sulok ng mundo
Na may Pilipino, itoy para sa inyo
Sa kinabukasan nyo
Ang ibibigay naming paparemyo

Wowowee sinong di mawiwili
Dahil sa game na to ay di ka magsisisi
Wowowee panalo ang marami
Pagkat walang talo sa wowowee

Sa loob at labas ng ating bansa
Saan man nagmumula
May pero o wala
Kasama ko kayo at pwedeng manalo
Ganyan kung magmahal
Ang kapamilya mo ( wowowee )

Wowowee sinong di mawiwili
Dahil sa game na to ay di ka magsisisi
Wowowee panalo ang marami
Pagkat walang talo sa wowowee

Wowowee sinong di mawiwili
Dahil sa game na to sigurado ang swerte
Wowowee panalo ang marami
Pagkat walang talo sa wowowee
Pagkat panalo ka sa wowowee

Wowowee wowowee wowowee

Another breakthrough that just wasnt there

In another case of misguided scientific reporting, MSNBC reports that 'scientists force evolution in the lab.' Holy mother of pearl!, I thought. This is astounding! Finally proof that macroevolution--the emergence of a new species over time--has been achieved in a controlled environment. I read on with interest, but the first paragraph didn't look promising. "Scientists have forced a little evolution in the laboratory..."

To make a long story short, there was nothing of the sort. The scientists weren't even trying to 'force evolution in the lab.' What they were trying to do was understand the effect of hormonal differences in species. As always, the reporter sheepishly admits that "none of this looks to be going anywhere in the sense of survival of the fittest. The black and green caterpillars will all grow up basically the same." Gee, you think?

There was no evolution in the lab in the Darwinian macroevolution sense. This article was clearly aimed at the gullible.

A side order of Hamas

The December 2004 tsunami brought together Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr. Theyre pals now, 2 people on opposite sides of the political fence. The Hamas situation is also bringing together Jimmy Carter and conservative columnist and one-time Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, at least on their positions on Hamas. Both are urging the US not to stop foreign aid to the Palestinians; Carter for bleeding-heart reasons and Buchanan for practical reasons. In the meantime, the Israelis are still nervous. This is one time their nuclear deterrent won't work because the Palestinians are right next door.

Hamas is still classified as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU. But the Israelis weren't so pristine in its early days when they were fighting for a country they can call their own. The Irgun Svai Leumi and the Stern Group, which nurtured the future Israeli leaders, were known terrorist organizations. Irgun, under their leader Menachem Begin, planned bombings of hotels in Jerusalem and other terrorist acts, and with the Stern Group (one time member, Yitshak Shamir) were guilty of the massacre at Deir Yassin where 260 people were killed, including women and children. Later, Menachem Begin became prime minister of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. I'm not saying that Hamas would choose the path of peace, now that the Palestinians have entrusted them with their government, but it is possible. Not likely, but possible. I mean, who woulda thunk a thug like Begin would win a Nobel Peace Prize?

Will work for Winx Club stickers, too. 

I have the best model

She'll work for food.

Glass half full

As if the Iraqis didn't have enough trouble already, UN health officials report that a 15-yr old Iraqi girl died of bird flu. Iraq shares a border with the strangely appropriately named Turkey, which already has an outbreak of the disease. For crying out loud, what next? These Iraqis deserve a break.

A break from the western media would do them good, too. Despite the bleak picture of the Iraqi situation being painted by the Western press, Iraqis remain optimistic about their future. In a poll conducted by the BBC, 65% of Iraqi respondents believe their personal life is getting better, and 56% are optimistic about their economy. (In Afghanistan, it's 70% and 57%.) This reminds me of our very own Mindanao situation when the Manila media portray the place as the wild, wild west with shootouts and bombs going off everywhere, and Muslim Filipinos as violence prone, hair-triggered bandits. I've been to Zamboanga city, Pagadian, Malangas, Zamboanga del Sur, and other places there, and I've met Muslims and worked with them. They're just like the rest of us. Manila is just as 'dangerous' as Zamboanga city. Granted, in some isolated barangays, weird, violent stuff happen. But they happen in isolated barangays in Christian Luzon, too. I'm just afraid that because media portray Muslim Filipinos as hardly civilized barbarians, this reinforces some of them to behave this way; as swaggering siga-siga. "Hey, that FPJ movie portrays Muslims like that. Maybe that's how we ought to behave." Television especially is a powerful force in telling people how they should behave, how they should look, how they should speak, in order to reinforce a certain self-image. So you've got models on 'coolness' or 'bitchiness' as the case may be, and take that as a model on how you yourself should behave based on your own image of yourself. Media's excuse is that they just mirror life the way they see it. This is of course bunk. Their mirror is filtered by marketing consultants; by what sells. They're not mirroring; they're suggesting; they're dictating. And the people are buying it. Scary.
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[A friend of mine called my attention to my recent posts and noticed that Ive been ranting a lot. I read back and, yes, I do sound like a very angry and very bad stand-up comic. Which just means I've practically broken almost all New Year's resolutions I made, and it isnt even February yet. Aside from the rants, I resolved not to begin a sentence with 'Ok', 'Well', 'Heck', 'Actually', or 'Basically.' I'm pretty sure Ive done that several times. Except for 'Basically'. Well, heck, ok? Basically Im just doing the best I can. Who follows resolutions anyway?]

Two shockers

The first of course is the victory by Hamas in the Palestinian elections. In a development that surprised even them, Hamas has won a decisive majority in the Palestinian Parliament, soundly defeating the ruling Fatah party. This of course is heralded as a triumph for democracy in the troubled region, but as can be expected, the self-proclaimed champion of democracy in the Middle East, G.W. Bush, isn't exactly excited to offer Hamas his congratulations. Their victory is probably perplexing Hamas leaders. "Holy Dome of the Rock, Mahmoud; we won! What the heck are we going to do now?" Now that they have to wear suits and attend Parliament, this might force them to take a more moderate stance. This was probably the direction they were looking at when their supporters marched without weapons towards the Parliament building to celebrate, where they were met by fully armed Fatah supporters. Maybe Hamas would tone down their "Death to Israel" act. After all, if they want to qualify for foreign aid, they have to show themselves to be good citizens in the world community. But I'm not betting that they give up their weapons anytime soon.

In another shocker, former NBA rebounding machine and sometime movie actor Dennis Rodman has signed up to play for the Brighton Bears in the British Basketball League. Wha-?? At first I didn't believe it, and had to do a double take. I was indeed shocked. I re-read the article again. And it's true! The British have a basketball league!