So everyone was asked to have body art to be admitted to the party. Not forcibly. But one does not disappoint the birthday girl. Not on her birthday. And not on her party. While imaginations ran wild and amok on the tattoos everyone would be flashing during the party, we were blinded by Cherry's ginormous marker tattoo: a centimeter sized smiley face on her left hand. Hah! Happy birthday, indeed! But that was all forgiven the moment the feast of the most delish food was spread on the buffet counter. And the open bar Red Horse Beer. (There's Red Horse Beer to be had in Bahrain? Apparently.) Karaoke as usual. I mean, yes, karaoke! And of course the shimmering pool that beckoned us all. That's the way to celebrate one's birthday in a faraway land with strangers that are friends and friends that are strangers and then some, stranger strangers.
(P.S. Those locals are rather pesky. Can we not just make that a one-nighter? Kalas. Finito. Remind me to revert to my aloof self when around people like them. Geez.)
6/30/2009
6/28/2009
Rant of the Month
*Deleted*
And shutting it with certain subjects. (Self-censure, damn straight.)
Because I still want to live. Somehow.
And shutting it with certain subjects. (Self-censure, damn straight.)
Because I still want to live. Somehow.
6/15/2009
A Diana to Spice Up the Holga - Dalek Romance
Acquiring a new Lomo camera was entirely unplanned. It just happened. Whaaa?
And there it is Diana F+ and the whole nine yards (De Luxe). Feels like assembling ammos when I tinker with them (not that I've assembled ammos before) . I wish there was a Mr. Pink available though or even that Tokyo Snow one. But I'm loving the Diana accessories. I could use some in my Holga, too. And the flash comes in handy for lo-fi colorsplash effects with my cheapo digital camera.
6/11/2009
6/09/2009
Fight Fire with Fire
6/04/2009
Stop Gloria Forever Moves! Kick ConAss!
From the Akbayan Executive Committee
June 3, 2009
There are many uncertainties about the legal meaning of the passage of House Resolution 1109. What is crystal clear is that Gloria has not given up on remaining in power after 2010. Despite its patent illegality, despite divisions in the ranks of the GMA forces in the House, despite the withdrawal of HR1109’s main sponsor, Cong. Villafuerte, GMA’s people forced HR1109’s passage.
This move should be opposed in the strongest possible terms, using all means available for people to express their opposition – in the courts, in the Congress, most importantly in the streets. A broad coalition of civil society groups, political parties, religious groups, youth formations have already begun. Opposition has to be organized outside Manila . We encourage party units to take the lead in mobilizing opposition in the provinces.
What is HR1109?
HR1109 calls on Congress to convene as a Constituent Assembly. It specifically says that the House, without the Senate, can propose amendments to the constitution. It says that if the House can secure three fourths of all the members of the House and the Senate, 225 votes in all, it will fulfill the requirements under Article XVII of the Constitution.
By itself, HR1109 will have little effect except to declare to the Senate and to the public that the House is interested in convening a ConAss for the purpose of proposing amendments/revisions to the Constitution. It does not propose any specific amendments/revisions yet.
There are disagreements on the legal implications of HR1109. Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia, an HR1109 proponent, characterizes it as a mere “call to convene”, and an invitation to the Senate to join the House in convening a ConAss. If the Senate does not “accept the invitation” – does not pass a resolution convening a ConAss – there is no legal basis for a ConAss.
But the immediate purpose of the hurried passage of HR1109 is only to create a semblance of a justiciable issue that may be raised before the Supreme Court. Gloria and her operators believe that they have enough people in the Court who can secure a decision accepting the voting formula contained in HR1109.
It is clear that GMA has not managed to secure the 225 votes needed to pull off the charade of fulfilling the Constitutional requirement of a three fourth’s vote of the members of both the House and the Senate. Their hope is that if the Supreme Court says ConAss without the Senate does not violate the Constitution, they will be able to secure the remaining votes.
Legal Obstacles
Lawyers in the opposition say that the passage of HR1109, by itself, does not create a “justiciable issue”. The expression of an intention to convene a ConAss without the Senate is not illegal. If the Senate rejects it, or chooses not to address it at all, then the entire move to convene a ConAss will remain in limbo.
There are indications that to force the issue, GMA’s people will go ahead and convene a ConAss, elect officers, and propose amendments. But without the 225 votes, the process will not even fulfill the requirements of HR1109 itself which calls for a three fourths vote. They won’t even have an argument to make to the Supreme Court.
Political Means
Under conditions of legality, if the Supreme Court does what it is supposed to do, it should be easy to stop HR1109. Because Gloria has a long record of illegal moves, in the end, Gloria’s chacha can only be stopped politically.
§ We should tell Gloria’s people in the House that we will mobilize against them in the 2010 elections,
§ We should let Supreme Court justices know that they cannot violate the Constitution with impunity,
§ We should express our anger in our schools, in the halls of Congress, most importantly in the streets (maski na umuulan.
June 3, 2009
There are many uncertainties about the legal meaning of the passage of House Resolution 1109. What is crystal clear is that Gloria has not given up on remaining in power after 2010. Despite its patent illegality, despite divisions in the ranks of the GMA forces in the House, despite the withdrawal of HR1109’s main sponsor, Cong. Villafuerte, GMA’s people forced HR1109’s passage.
This move should be opposed in the strongest possible terms, using all means available for people to express their opposition – in the courts, in the Congress, most importantly in the streets. A broad coalition of civil society groups, political parties, religious groups, youth formations have already begun. Opposition has to be organized outside Manila . We encourage party units to take the lead in mobilizing opposition in the provinces.
What is HR1109?
HR1109 calls on Congress to convene as a Constituent Assembly. It specifically says that the House, without the Senate, can propose amendments to the constitution. It says that if the House can secure three fourths of all the members of the House and the Senate, 225 votes in all, it will fulfill the requirements under Article XVII of the Constitution.
By itself, HR1109 will have little effect except to declare to the Senate and to the public that the House is interested in convening a ConAss for the purpose of proposing amendments/revisions to the Constitution. It does not propose any specific amendments/revisions yet.
There are disagreements on the legal implications of HR1109. Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia, an HR1109 proponent, characterizes it as a mere “call to convene”, and an invitation to the Senate to join the House in convening a ConAss. If the Senate does not “accept the invitation” – does not pass a resolution convening a ConAss – there is no legal basis for a ConAss.
But the immediate purpose of the hurried passage of HR1109 is only to create a semblance of a justiciable issue that may be raised before the Supreme Court. Gloria and her operators believe that they have enough people in the Court who can secure a decision accepting the voting formula contained in HR1109.
It is clear that GMA has not managed to secure the 225 votes needed to pull off the charade of fulfilling the Constitutional requirement of a three fourth’s vote of the members of both the House and the Senate. Their hope is that if the Supreme Court says ConAss without the Senate does not violate the Constitution, they will be able to secure the remaining votes.
Legal Obstacles
Lawyers in the opposition say that the passage of HR1109, by itself, does not create a “justiciable issue”. The expression of an intention to convene a ConAss without the Senate is not illegal. If the Senate rejects it, or chooses not to address it at all, then the entire move to convene a ConAss will remain in limbo.
There are indications that to force the issue, GMA’s people will go ahead and convene a ConAss, elect officers, and propose amendments. But without the 225 votes, the process will not even fulfill the requirements of HR1109 itself which calls for a three fourths vote. They won’t even have an argument to make to the Supreme Court.
Political Means
Under conditions of legality, if the Supreme Court does what it is supposed to do, it should be easy to stop HR1109. Because Gloria has a long record of illegal moves, in the end, Gloria’s chacha can only be stopped politically.
§ We should tell Gloria’s people in the House that we will mobilize against them in the 2010 elections,
§ We should let Supreme Court justices know that they cannot violate the Constitution with impunity,
§ We should express our anger in our schools, in the halls of Congress, most importantly in the streets (maski na umuulan.
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