Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Condoms, Corruption, Conscience

"Pope Benedict XVI, who arrived Tuesday in Cameroon for his first trip to Africa as pontiff, denounced condom use on the AIDS-ravaged continent, saying there were better ways to combat the disease.

AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," the 81-year-old pontiff told reporters on the flight from Rome.

The solution lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer," said Benedict, who will also visit Angola during the weeklong trip."


Read the full story here.

Pasensya na sa mga magagalit pero di ako nag-aagree sa sinabi ng Santo Papa. Sa tingin ko condoms o artficial means of protection pa rin ang panlaban sa AIDS epidemic na yan. Hindi lang sa Africa kundi sa buong mundo na rin.

Sabi hindi daw 100% effective ang paggamit ng condom pero ang "spiritual and human awakening" ba ay isang mabisang solusyon? Ang mga edukadong tao nga ay di makpagpigil sa tawag ng laman, ang mga Aprikano pa kaya na ayon sa aking kaalaman ay lugmok sa kahirapan at di makapag-aral?

Hindi ba pwedeng pagsabayin ang dalawa? Prayers and use of contraceptives?

*****

"Jesus Martinez capped his public career by being disgraced. Manuel Gaite Jr. has previously been disgraced, and has been rewarded for it by being given a promotion — to take over Martinez’s job as a commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission."

Yan ang unang paragraph sa Editorial ng PDI ngayon. Bad trip.

"What stuck in the public’s mind was that Gaite gave Lozada half a million pesos and then insisted the funds came from personal resources. We’re hard-pressed to think anyone believed him then, just as Martinez’s demonstrating shock — combined with protestations of ignorance — about his son’s business dealings with the son of Legacy boss Celso de los Angeles inspired public skepticism."

Ang kapal. Bad trip.

"The moral of the story, as Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Ramon Farolan put it Monday, is an immoral one: “If you must lie, lie to protect the administration. If you must steal, make certain some of it goes to the administration. If you must cheat, cheat in favor of the administration. You will be assured of protection and you may not see the inside of a courtroom. Like Gaite, you might even be rewarded.”"

Wala akong masabi. Walang kwenta pa rin talaga ang gobyerno natin. Nakakainis.

Read the full editorial here.

*****

"The Filipino woman who accused an American Marine of raping her in November 2005 has not only recanted more than two years after winning a conviction but has also accepted money from him and flown to the United States for good.

Nicole also issued a sworn statement on March 12 saying she expected her motives to be questioned.

She raised doubts that US Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith had raped her, and suggested that she might have welcomed his sexual advances at the Neptune Club in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

She added: “My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith at the Neptune Club that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away.”"
'

Read the full story here.

The smell of money and milk and honey work in not-so-mysterious ways in this country. Kaya siguro hindi tayo umaasenso.

6 comments:

gillboard said...

Nagulat ako dun sa huling balita... Nicole did that... after niyang suportahan ng halos buong bansa... tsk tsk tsk

Anonymous said...

I was shocked and frustrated when I read that Nicole recanted her statement.

Sabi nga ni Senator Pangilinan, "Nicole didn't fail us, our justice system did."

escape said...

kakapagod isipin ang politika. byahe na nga lang muna tayo. hehehe... lapit na ng bantayan trip nyo! yihaa!

Raft3r said...

big fan ako ng condoms
better safe than sorry, ika nga

happy weekend, scud!
be safe
hehe

Anonymous said...

I also strongly disagree with the Pope's stand on condoms. His suggestion will only work if everyone in Africa is a devout and practicing Catholic. But even then, there's still no guarantee that everyone would practice the rhythm method and abstain from condoms.

"To the winner belong the spoils" has always been one of the mantras of any party or group who takes the reins of power in the Philippines and that's why unity and meaningful progress have remained elusive.

Regarding Nicole, I've always felt from Day 1 that her story had a lot of holes in it. Some of your readers may disagree with me on this but an innocent man is being denied his freedom right now because of her lies.

Anonymous said...

mga ganitong pagkakataon hindi ka na magtataka kung bakit ganito ang bansang ito o ang mundong ito.