Politics in the Age of Information

In line with the news item presented below, here is an excerpt of a paper I wrote on the politics of the digital revolution.

We live in a continually evolving world polity. In an age where individuals are increasingly aware of what exist outside of the personal spaces they inhabit, and indeed in a time where it is relatively facile to move out of the spaces they have known all their lives, what is global, what is international, what is transnational is increasingly local and domestic. The developments in the technological, political and socio-economic realm have eclipsed each and every one of our notions of humanity. To continue viewing the world through dichotomies that artificially separate the domestic and international, the economic and political, are the gravest of follies anyone can commit.

With the view that social structures and their concomitant processes are products of historical change, we examine the notions of power and society in a world indelibly marked by information revolution. We ask, what do we mean exactly by ‘information revolution’?

We argue that power today is more the ability to exclude from access to vital information embodied in networks and institutions. We also argue that world politics in this age of information remains much as it has been for the past few centuries; one wherein struggles for dominance and power preside over human activities. The information revolution is yet another matrix, venue or stage wherein these struggles are juxtaposed...

...We attempt to reveal the structures that underlie what so many digerati claim as a new frontier wherein netizens are all plugged in as equals. Where humanity has the capacity to transcend differences, and create a harmonious world. We attempt to explode this utopian drivel and interpret today’s realities through open and conscious eyes.

It is also useful to address myths by taking them more seriously. If in fact their value is determined less by their empirical truth or falsity but rather by whether they are living or dead, then the question is not are they true but what keeps them alive. Myths are sustained by social practices that involve the leadership of iconic story tellers whose accomplishments in one area live them a platform to promote mythic story-telling (Mosco, 2001: 7).

By these ‘iconic’ storytellers Mosco means those who unequivocally see the increasing informationalization of society as a good when they are in fact speaking for particular interests and at the same time creating a misleading depiction of what the new advances in technology and the so-called information society is all about. He cautions us in the wholesale buying of the idea of globalization and the information age which has acquired such gloss and such demagogical baggage that it does not leave for a deeper unearthing of its dynamics underneath.


What is Information?

Information is not something we knowingly consume as we have in the past, but something that reaches us instantaneously and injects us the message. An interesting question therefore is what is this message?

Information today is presentational instead of representational as in the past. Art such as paintings, sculptures and works of fiction are representations of reality. They are information relaying to us depictions of what is ‘real.’ Information today however presents a message as factual, not leaving time or space for reflection as to whether the message is at all true or indeed relevant. In real life, this kind of information reaches us through the media.

Next we consider information in four perspectives. William Martin gives us four such perceptions (1995: 19-21).

Information-as-thing. Here knowledge is differentiated from information in that the former must be expressed or represented to make it tangible. To make knowledge tangible it must be communicated. The tangible form is information.

Information-as-resource. It is seen as any kind of natural endowment that can be harnessed from the environment (i.e. oil, minerals, wood etc.).

Information-as-commodity. Here it is treated as any commodity gaining value as it progresses through the various steps of creation, processing, storage, distribution and use.

Information-as-constitutive-force-in-society. “Information is not just affected by its environment, but is itself an actor affecting other elements in its environment. Information is not just embedded within a social structure, but creates the structure itself (1995: 21).”

What is the Information Society?

It is said that we are moving into a post-industrial society where increasingly production has diversified into services instead of manufacturing (to the detriment of the latter). Thus, production has become highly dependent on the possession and manipulation of information.

The Information Society is a society in which the quality of life, as well as prospects for social change and economic development depend increasing on information and its exploitation. In such a society, living standards, patterns of work and leisure, education and market place are all influenced markedly by advances in information and knowledge…This is evidenced by an increasing array of information-sensitive products and services, commoditized through a wide range of media, many of them electronic in nature (Martin, 1995: 3).

What is Power in the Information Age?

Our conception of power in the age of information is seen and investigated through different (and complementary to the traditional conceptions) lenses.

In this new economy of knowledge-intensive production, power arises more from the exclusion of actors from access to information. This exclusion is enabled through intellectual property.

“Real property in the means of production carries with it the right to exploit. Intellectual property carries with it the right to exclude (Lash, 2002: 24).”

Intellectual property rights are then enforced through political will and political institutions. The very nature of the information economy being global has made it difficult for individual states to enforce these rights. Therefore, politically-instituted international regimes such as the World Trade Organization (Which has now subsumed the World Intellectual Property Organization) have been designated the task. The WTO is increasingly becoming the battle grounds of defending the right to exclude.

This exclusion is also synonymous to exclusive right to exploit, to make profit from. For this exclusion to occur, information must necessarily be commoditized.

Knowledge is collectively produced and is not inherently scarce, it only acquires a commodity form insofar as it is made artificially scare and access thereto depends on payment of rent… It is worth noting here at least three processes involved in transforming knowledge into a fictitious commodity: the first is its formal transformation from a collective resource ('intellectual commons') into intellectual property (e.g., patent, copyright) as a basis for revenue generation; the second is the formal subsumption of knowledge production under exploitative class relations through the separation of intellectual and manual labour and the transformation of the former into wage labour producing knowledge for the market; and the third is the real subsumption of intellectual labour and its products under capitalist control through their commoditisation and integration into a networked, digitised production-consumption process that is controlled by capital (Jessop).

These seemingly innocuous events are increasingly becoming the norm in today’s scramble for exclusivity-in-use. Power in the information age then stems from the capacity to exclude other actors from access to and profiting from these life forms/modes of doing things. In an era where the creation of wealth is increasingly dependent on being plugged-in into the information network, exclusion from it promises to be detrimental to material and intangible well-being of people.

It is therefore the increasing preoccupation of world powers to appropriate as much knowledge/information as they can.

World Summit on the Information Society: Who Controls the Net?

The second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society will see the gathering of world leaders in Tunisia on November 16-18 2005. The WSIS was set into motion by the International Telecommunications Union in 1998. The United Nations General Assembly then endorsed the framework set by the ITU Council. The WSIS addresses the impacts of the digital revolution to the lives of everyone on the planet. Aside from tackling issues of governance, the summit also addresses issues of global inequality in access to information.

As in issues of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Trade in Agriculture, the economic giants are once again at odds on the issue of Internet governance. The European Union, as well as other developing countries are challenging US dominance of the management of the Internet.

Wisdom of the Ancients

Some of the strangest sex advice in the last couple of millenia in John Naish's "Put What Where?!: Over 2,000 Years of Bizarre Sex Advice."

How to pull
“Pick the woman’s worst feature and then make it appear desirable. Tell an older woman that she looks young. Tell an ugly woman that she looks ‘fascinating’.” Philaenis, papyrus sex manual (2BC)

Go blondes!
“All women are lascivious but auburn blondes the most. A little straight forehead denotes an unbridled appetite in lust.” Giovanni Sinibaldi, Rare Verities: the Cabinet of Venus Unlock’d (1658)

Buns and corsets cause nymphomania
“Constricting the waist by corsets prevents the return of blood to the heart, overloads sexual organs and causes unnatural excitement of the sexual system. The majority of women follow the goddess Fashion and so also wear their hair in a heavy knot. This great pressure on their small brains produces great heat and chronic inflammation of their sexual organs. It is almost impossible that such women should lead other than a life of sexual excess.” Dr John Cowan, The Science of a New Life (1888)

On the other hand . . .
“The majority of women (happily for them) are not very much troubled with sexual feelings of any kind.” Dr William Acton, Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs (1858)

Indian enlargement
“Rub your penis with the bristles of certain insects that live in trees, and then, after rubbing it for ten nights with oils, rub it with the bristles as before. Swelling will be gradually produced. Then lie on a hammock with a hole in it and hang the penis through the hole. Take away the pain from the swelling by using cool concoctions. The swelling lasts for life.” Kamasutra, translated by Sir Richard Burton and F. F. “Bunny” Arbuthnot (1883)

Climaxes can kill
“Fainting, vomiting, involuntary urination, epilepsy and defecation have occurred in young men after first coitus. Lesions of various organs have taken place. In men of mature age the arteries have been unable to resist the high blood pressure and cerebral haemorrhage with paralysis has occurred. In elderly men the excitement of intercourse with young wives or prostitutes has caused death.” Havelock Ellis, Psychology of Sex: a Manual for Students (1933)

How often?
“The ordinary man can safely indulge about four times a month. More than that would be excess for a large majority of civilised men and women.” Lyman B. Sperry, Confidential Talks with Husband and Wife: a Book of Information and Advice for the Married and Marriageable (1900)

Single-handed signs
“Look at the habitual masturbator! See how thin, pale and haggard he appears; how his eyes are sunken; how long and cadaverous is his cast of countenance; how irritable he is and how sluggish, mentally and physically; how afraid he is to meet the eye of his fellow, feel his damp and chilling hand, so characteristic of great vital exhaustion.” Dr Henry Guernsey, Plain Talks on Avoided Subjects (1882)

Never marry these women
“Redheads. Any girl named after a mountain, a tree, a river or a bird. Ones with rough hands or feet. Ones who sigh, laugh or cry at meals. Any girl with inverted nipples, a beard, uneven breasts, flap ears, spindle legs or who is scrawny. Girls whose big toes are disproportionately small. Girls who make the ground shake when they walk past.” Koka Shastra, The Indian Scripture of Koka (12th century)

And, if you can’t find it, don’t worry
“The clitoris, while important, is not nearly as important as many of us have been taught or led to believe.” Edward Podolsky, Sex Technique for Husband and Wife (1947)

But whatever you do ...
“Never fool around sexually with a vacuum cleaner.” Dr Alex Comfort, The Joy of Sex (1972)

Driving While Female

Makati City has become more familiar to me in the last two years since my boyfriend lived there when I first met him. I know the business district passably well, certainly more so in the last couple of years than the twenty-three odd ones before.

I especially know the area around Greenbelt because I am there at least once a month to shop or see the latest film fests. And so, I know that there are never any traffic enforcers on that "Forty Winks" intersection (Pasong Tamo and that other street I forget) going to the Greenbelt 1 parking area. It can be safe to say then that one can harmlessly ignore the "No right turn on the red signal" sign post conspicuously planted next to the traffic light as long as one ensures that one is turning right when all the cars from the other side of the road have safely crossed. Yesterday proved an exception as two conspicuously planted Makati City biker patrollers, in their white polo shirts and royal blue shorts hailed me as soon as I ignored the politely offered traffic suggestion.

What is strangely funny is, not a few moments before, I was gleefully recounting to my friend Arlene, the finer arts of charming your way out of a traffic violation. She had warned me that MMDA officers are now in the full swing of the holiday season in their early collection of "pamasko" from unsuspecting motorists. I recounted my own strategies on how to avoid parting with your money or driver's license.

It is an advantage if one is wearing a low-cut blouse. One can position one's torso and shoulders in such a way that distracts and persuades like no uttered words or pleading can. If one has reasonably well-shaped legs and one is wearing a short skirt, then by all means, open the driver's door instead of merely cracking open the window to show them in their full glory.

One's chance of being let go with a stern warning and a 20 second lecture about a driver's responsibilities and whatnot doubles when one is lucky enough to be wearing both a revealing blouse and shorts or skirt. Lucky for me, yesterday I had chosen to don cream pants and a blouse whose neckline hugged my collarbone.

Unarmed with my weapons of choice, I had to resort to other talents. Since I am over 20, the crying, scared bit just doesn’t work anymore. Firstly, one has to be polite and respectful. Always say the requisite “po” or “opo” even if your apprehending officer doesn’t seem overly aged. Alternate between smiles and a “little-girl-lost” expression depending on the situation. Play up the damsel in distress bit on every opportunity given.

Officer: “Ma’am, did you see the no right turn sign over there? You just violated a city ordinance.”

Me: (flutter eyelashes) Oh really??? I’m so sorry I didn’t see! I was just looking at the other side of the intersection waiting for the cars to pass, as soon as it was clear I just made the turn.

Officer: (Stern smile) Your driver’s license please.

Do not hesitate to lie. But never attempt to do so if you can’t deliver with grace.

Me: You see, I’m from Kalookan. I’m not in this area often, so I’m not familiar with the ordinances. And sir, I honestly didn’t see the sign. I hadn’t seen my friend in a long time so we were busy chattering.

Officer: (cursory glance at my friend on the passenger’s seat)

One must not be ashamed to play the dumb chick next to the apprehending officer’s superior logic and smarts. One must always agree, remember always with a smile or a confused frown, with whatever he says.

Officer: Ma’am this is city ordinance we strictly enforce. You see, if I don’t issue you a ticket, you will not remember this violation and you’re likely to do it again.

Me: Oh, but sir, I assure you I will never do this again. I’m not always in the area. I swear I didn’t see the sign!

Officer: (macho man-ish) You do agree that I am right, that you won’t remember to follow the rules if I don’t penalize you for your transgression. You admit that I’m right and you’re wrong.

In the three years that I’ve been teaching I have learned that the tone of voice is a powerful thing. It can intimidate, inspire, move, censure, mock or cajole depending on the need. When it looks like things won’t go your way, remember to keep your voice flustered, a bit panicky and always, always sweet. Sweet in a little-girl helpless way.

Me: (breathy) Oh yes sir, I know I’m totally wrong! But can you please let me go on a warning just this time?

Officer: (goes to his comrade with the ticket book)

When it looks like you officer is unrelenting, offer to do the right thing and do your duty as a responsible citizen of the country.

Office: Ma’am you’ll have to claim your license at the Makati City hall.

Me: Can I get it today?

Officer: Oh, no. Monday to be safe. It’s already late and the city hall closes at five.

Me: Oh, where is it?

Officer: On JP Rizal.

Me: Where is that?

Officer: Err. You can reach it through Guadalupe.

Me: (confused frown, fluttery breath) I’m so sorry sir, but I’m not sure where that is!

When one has amply demonstrated one’s total helplessness and utter sweetness, one moves in for the kill.

Me: Sir, are you sure you can’t just let me go this one time. I’ll remember this and I promise never to do this again. What’s your name?

Officer: (flustered) Rolly.

Me: Rolly, I’ll remember this I promise.

Officer: (puffed chest, confused frown, utter resignation) Oh alright. Here’s your license.

Grateful, flushed with adrenalin after having scaled that tiny mountain, I drove away in smug satisfaction that contrary to common knowledge, women are not, in fact, the weaker sex.

When The Voices In My Head Stop Talking

Since I have been in a writing glut for quite some time now, I've wanted to write about so many things; from politics, to my life's frustrations, to my mother, my dead father, my deadbeat brother and of course, the staple movie reviews. Usually my writing process begins in the car. An idea pops into my head and for the rest of the drive my blog entry sort of just assembles itself. As soon as I'm on my computer my fingers move over the keyboard by themselves. Hence the ocasional mispeling and grammaticals error.

Some people even note my tenses don't match. Oh well. Like I said, I don't read fiction (except for my precious historical romances with half-nekkid caucasians on the cover). And since I'm not used to reading fiction (and rarely have the interest except when its set in a foreign land some centuries past with lotsa love scenes) I'm not used to keeping my timeline right. Oh well.

Another hazard of being trilingual ("quintilingual" if you count Ilocano and Pangasinense) is that sometimes I "lose" words. In the middle of a sentence, usually when addressing my class, I would frequently forget the word in English but remember it in French. Or forget it in Tagalog but remember it in French. And since French is my fifth language, I, of course, forget a lot of my French. This hazard also applies to writing. The voices in my head usually speak to me in English, and so, as you will note, most of my entries are English. But increasingly, in the past months other voices have encroached. Sometimes they all come to me in a jumble of languages. How then will I write a coherent blog entry?

Lastly, since my blog has gained a following of 20, I now feel "pressure" to write brilliant entries. My blog is here to entertain, inspire, move mountains. I sometimes read my previous ones (yes those links to the right) and wonder how in the heck I was able to write them. Maybe because, aside from the inspiration given me by my frequent drives in the Metro, I also write when I read. When I read a lot. And since I haven't been reading (except my historicals), I haven't been writing. I should get back to reading. A lot.

EBAYING is dangerous to your health

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The Philippines is...

Just so I have something to post....yet another forwarded e-mail. Shoot me now.

50. Where the most happening places are not where the party is. Instead it's where the gang wars happen, where women strip and where the people overthrow a president.

49. Where even doctors, lawyers and engineers are unemployed.

48. Where everyone has his personal ghost story.

47. Where mountains like Makiling and Banahaw are considered holy places.

46. Where everything can be forged.

45. Where school is considered the second home and the mall considered the third.

44. Where Starbucks coffee is more expensive than gas.

43. Where every street has a basketball court and every town only has one public school.

42. Where all kinds of animals are edible.

41. Where people speak all kinds of languages, and still call it Tagalog.

40. Where students pay more money than they will earn afterwards.

39. Where call-center employees earn more money than teachers and nurses.

38. Where driving 4 kms can take as much as four hours.

37. Where flyovers bring you from the freeway to the side streets.

36. Where the tourist spots are where Filipinos do not (or cannot) go.

35. Where the personal computer is mainly used for games and Friendster.

34. Where all 13-year-olds are alcoholic.

33. Where colonial mentality is dishonestly denied!

32. Where 4 a.m. is not even considered bedtime yet.

31. Where people can pay to defy the law.

30. Where everything is spoofed.

29. Where even the poverty-stricken get to wear Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger!

28. Where the honking of car horns is a way of life.

27. Where being called a bum is never offensive.

26. Where floodwaters take up more than 90 percent of the streets during the rainy season.

25. Where everyone has a relative abroad who keeps them alive.

24. Where crossing the street involves running for your dear life.

23. Where wearing your national colors makes you baduy.

22. Where billiards is a sport, and darts is a bar game.

21. Where even the poverty-stricken have the latest cell phones. (GSM-galing sa magnanakaw)

20. Where insurance does not work.

19. Where water can only be classified as tap and dirty - clean water is for sale (35 pesos per gallon).

18. Where the church governs the people and where the government makes the people pray for miracles. (Amen to that!)

17. Where University of the Philippines is where all the weird people go. Ateneo is where all the nerds go. La Salle is where all the Chinese go. College of Saint Benilde is where all the stupid Chinese go, and University of Asia and the Pacific is where all the irrelevantly rich people go.

16. Where fast food is a diet meal.

15. Where traffic signs are merely suggestions, not regulations.

14. Where all the trees in the city are below six feet.

13. Where being held up is normal. It happens to everyone.

12. Where kids dream of becoming pilots, doctors and basketball players.

11. Where rodents are normal house pets.

10. Where the definition of traffic is the "non-movement" of vehicles.

9. Where the fighter planes of the 1940s are used for military engagements, and the new fighter planes are displayed in museums.

8. Where Nora Aunor is an acclaimed actress and Boy Abunda is the best talk show host.

7. Where cigarettes and alcohol are a necessity, and where the lottery is a commodity.

6. Where soap operas tell the realities of life and where the news provides the drama.

5. Where actors make the rules and where politicians provide the entertainment. (Kung gusto mo mapikon, watch the news.)

4. Where finding a deer on the road will be a phenomenon. (May deer dito? Seryoso kayo?)

3. Where people can get away with stealing trillions of pesos, but not for a thousand.

2. Where being an hour late is still considered punctual. (Grabe talaga 'to!)

1. Where everyone wants to leave the country! (Ang saya-saya!)

Français 2, Epreuve 3, Question 4

Décrivez la personne sur la photo (physique, qu’est-ce qu’elle porte…). Que pensez-vous de son esprit ?

Comme j’ai oublié d'apporter la photo, j’ai demandé à mes étudiants à décrire leur chère prof. Moi.

Réponses intéressantes :

« Mademoiselle n’est pas attirante mais elle est mignonne pour moi. Comme Judy Anne Santos, elle est ronde… Aujourd’hui elle porte une chemise bleu ciel et un pantalon blanc. Ses chaussures sont noires. Elle est de bonne humeur (peut-être) parce qu’elle a pu regarder Pinoy Big Brother hier soir. »

-Adrin

« Je pense que la mademoiselle est jeune vraiment. Elle semble forte…Elle est sérieuse. Mais je pense qu’elle est peut- être un enfant, heureuse parfois. »

-Claude

« Je crois qu’elle est très drôle parce qu’elle blague beaucoup. Souvent, elle se parle aussi. C’est pourquoi je me demande si elle est déjà folle. Mais elle enseigne bien. »

-Kevin

« Mademoiselle est très sympathique, très drôle et très intelligente. Elle nous aime, je crois. Maintenant elle semble inquiète. Je pense que c’est parce que nous prenons l’examen et elle nous voudrait faire bien. Elle est une bonne prof comme ça. Elle nous dit qu’elle a faim. Moi aussi, j’ai faim. »

-Vinia

May Pera Pa Ba?

NCPAG FORUM: Moving Forward with the Millenium Development Goals: May Pera Pa Ba?
National College of Public Administration and Governamce Assembly Hall
UP Diliman
Sept. 30, 2005
1:30 - 5:00 pm

The Forum

“May Pera Pa Ba?” explores the likelihood of achieving the MDGs in 2015 not only by looking into the progress the Philippines has made towards attaining the goals but by assessing the country's fiscal situation and quality of governance as well – two areas deemed critical in creating an enabling environment that will foster operationalization of the identified targets.

Role of Public Investment, Public Policy, and Good Governance in Attaining the MDGs

Attainment of the MDGs, particularly by low income and highly indebted countries, requires massive scaling up of resources and social infrastructure investments. When domestic resources are lacking, resource mobilization becomes critical. It is in this context that public policy and good governance are expected to lead to more efficient government spending, better aid utilization and more equitable resource distribution. Having adequate resources is necessary but not a sufficient condition to attain the goals. Good governance should provide an enabling policy environment necessary for creating strong institutions and developing sufficient implementation capacities needed to operationalize the targets and attain the goals.

Governance, however, weakens with corrupt leadership and inadequate financial resources and technical capacity to manage an efficient public administration. This necessitates investing in improving governance by supporting civil society and promoting the rule of law, political and social rights, accountable and efficient public administration and sound economic policies.

How well do you know your MDGs?

• What started it all? (Adel: MDG background – Millennium Summit)

• How do we fare in terms of achieving the goals?

The 2 nd Philippine Progress Report on the Implementation of the MDGs showed a high probability for attaining most of the MDG targets, except for

• Which country gives the least aid in proportion to GDP?
a. US b. Saudi Arabia c. Japan d. Switzerland

ANSWER:

• US. The US gives the least aid as a proportion of GDP. Although it gives more foreign aid in absolute terms than any other country, it amounts to only 0.1% of its GDP. The US gives $11 billion a year in global aid, and recently announced an increase of $5bn over the next three years. USAID's share in the Philippine ODA amounts to only US$ 20 million in 2004.

Among the country's funding sources, the Government of Japan through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) remained as the largest source of ODA loans, accounting for 61% (or US$6.5 billion with 73 loans) of the total ODA, followed by the World Bank (WB) with 13% (or US$1.4 billion with 26 loans) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) accounting for 11% (or US$1.1 billion with 35 loans).

• Do we have enough money to implement the MDGs?

A study commissioned by the UNDP for the UN International Conference on Financing for Development revealed that the financial shortfall in attaining the basic social sector goals (education, health and water and sanitation) alone from 2002-2010 would be PhP 122.4 billion under the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) 1999-2004 economic assumptions, and PhP 352 billion under an unchanged policy regime. The paper estimates the resource gap to range from an additional 2% to 5% of the central government budget. One limitation of this study though, is the non-consideration of local revenues in estimating the resources available for MDG implementation.

• Are MDG funds reflected in our national budget?

Yes. In fact, the programs and projects in the Medium-Term Public Investment Program (MTPIP) 2005-2010 that are supportive of MDGs amount to P1.74 trillion, about 81% of the total MTPIP requirements for the medium term. Of this estimate, the national government is expected to finance the biggest share amounting to P718.2 billion, followed by the government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) with P484.7 billion, and the private sector and local government units with P473.9 billion. Grant financing is expected to share P67.2 billion to the coffers to meet the MDGs.

• How much was spent on financing the MDGs? How was it affected by our huge debt burden?

The national government spent PhP 192 billion (44% of the total national government expenditures) in 2004 for social services, in addition to the PhP 36 billion spent by the LGUs. Although this item is exempt from budgetary cuts, delivery of basic social services still suffered due to the government's limited fiscal flexibility. Debt servicing for interest payments alone took almost 1/3 of the 2004 budget, partly causing the proportion of national government's social expenditure to GDP to decline from 6.35% in 2000 to 5.1% in 2004. Inflation and high population growth rate likewise exerted pressure on real per capita spending on health, education, social security, welfare and employment and housing, forcing government agencies to work with reduced budgets that further widened the financing gap for the MDGs.

• What critical areas of development should the Philippines invest in?

Millennium Project Head Professor Jeffrey Sachs proposed poverty mapping, investment strategy and financing strategy to meet the MDGs by 2015. He identified the three critical areas for investment: human capital, physical environment and infrastructure.

• Some people, even high-ranking officials in the bureaucracy are still unaware of the MDGs. How do you make them known to all concerned?

The government has launched two Philippine Progress Reports on the Implementation of the MDGs and has conducted consultative workshops to monitor, mainstream and advocate it to development partners. Legislative briefings were also made in the Senate and House of Representatives. Roundtable discussions to encourage Congress and Senate in discussing urgent and MDG-responsive legislation were also held by the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), in partnership with NEDA, United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Senate Economic and Planning Office (SEPO), Congressional Planning and Budget Department (CPBD), Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), People's Legislative Advocacy Network (PLAN) and Social Watch Philippines (SWP). A Special Committee on the MDGs was also created in the HOR.

For the civil society initiatives, SWP developed the Social Watch Monitoring System to ensure that national goals and strategies are translated into concrete programs and projects at the local level. A Conference Declaration was also made, embodying the civil society's commitments to actively monitor the implementation of the MDGs. Meanwhile, the PBSP led the business sector in crafting their framework for action. It shows how business can help attain the MDGs through core business, social investment and policy advocacy. The UP-NCPAG, on the other hand, is a staunch advocate in mainstreaming the MDGs in the Association of Schools of Public Administration in the Philippines (ASPAP) and in LGUs.

• How do we make sure MDGs are fulfilled?

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) heads the expanded Multisectoral Committee on International Human Development Commitments (MC-IHDC) which monitors, evaluates and reports on Philippine compliance to MDGs. DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2004-152 was also issued to provide LGUs with a menu of programs and projects they can choose from to localize the goals and targets. Moreover, the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) 2004-2010 cites the MDGs not just as priority goals but a commitment to ensure a brighter prospect for all Filipinos. Likewise, the MTPIP 2005-2010 – the critical link between planning, programming and budgeting, has identified investments per MDG goal to account how much goes to MDG programs, activities and projects. The business sector, civil society organizations and donor community are also committed to helping the government achieve the MDGs.

• With our fiscal problems and burgeoning population, how do we finance the MDGs?

The government has embarked on administrative and legislative measures to increase tax collection and savings generation. With the limited government resources to finance all MDG investment needs, the LGUs, private sector and civil society are also being tapped to provide support in meeting the other targets. Moreover, the government aims to expand microfinance services to the poor, tap OFW remittance, improve ODA utilization, right-size the bureaucracy and undertake privatization to increase and better manage public resources. Currently, proposals on debts swaps such as debt for equity and development/poverty reduction are being discussed to accelerate and meet the required spending for the MDGs. Considering the country's huge debt stock, however, such initiatives may have only minimal impact on reducing debt.

Compre Exam Part III Area V Question No. 1

“Theory is always for some one and for some purpose.” What is the significance of the above statement in theory building?

The social sciences have come a long way in trying to explain the workings of the world and its inhabitants. The statement above is testament to the evolution of human ought and the theories which we use to find causal explanations of social phenomena. This often-quoted statement by neo-Gramscian Robert Cox is an avowal that we are far from omniscient beings, and that all that we are and all that we think and believe are products of the environment and the conditions we live in.

The foundationalist (or rational) theories of the early days claim that there is an absolute truth out there to be discovered and unearthed by all-knowing theorists and scholars. While the scholar is the subject, “reality” is his/her object to be studied and explained. These “subjects” then make assumptions about the world we live in and base their actions on these “truths.” The danger of forming a view of the world through particular lenses is that of transmitting one’s own normative values based on one’s life experiences and interests. Consciously or unconsciously, according to the statement above, we as humans unwittingly transmit our own biases to the assumptions we make about the social world.

Rationalist/Foundational political theories such as realist and liberal thinking have even been accused by neogramscians of “maintaining the status quo,” the status being; there are people oppressed in the world and there are those who oppress them. If one dissects Realist theory of IR through this neo-Gramscian point of view then it certainly seems obvious that the discourse on world politics focuses on “great power” rivalries and says little about “non-powers” like the Philippines. Does this means that the 80 million inhabitants of this particular state matters little as well?

Non-foundational or reflectivist theories of the social sciences, curiously enough, trace their roots to the humanities. The “post-modern” turn began through the study of words, through linguistics. Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure began the “revolution” in the 1920s by declaring that there is no “truth” and that language shapes truth. Meanings are intersubjective agreements in that definitions of words and concepts are agreed upon by individuals although the notion/idea behind the word or concept is not necessarily uniform. The word “suffering” triggers different connotations between you and I. My idea of suffering could radically differ from yours.

And so, with the revolution in linguistics colonizing sociology as well as the other social sciences, the Subject has been declared dead. If there can be no factual, observable reality out there from which we as subjects are separate, how can we form “objective” thoughts or opinions about the world we live in? How can we build theories that try to explain the world “objectively”?

All at has come before, all that has been written, al that has been believed are now put into doubt. All that was and is is questioned by reflectivist theories. Critical theorists (tracing their roots to Gramsci) claim that rational theories are simply problem-solving, uninterested with emancipation of those who suffer in the world today. The discourse on traditional international relations especially during the Cold War has marginalized the dispossessed. The “non-powers” are only studied in so far as they affect or figure in great power politics.

Feminist theories on the other hand questions the masculinity of IR. They claim that the discipline of IR itself has been formed by men, with the normative values and biases of men. The recognition that there is a female perspective different from and certainly not inferior to the male perspective is crucial to the “destruction” of what we thought was “real.” While feminism has many variants (Standpoint, Liberal, Marxist), all are essentially in agreement that there is urgent need to frame the world through female eyes.

The shift from the individual as a Subject to the individual as an object has implications that shake the foundations of our core beliefs. Questions like; “Is the God of the Aramaic bible the same as the translated English version of Henry VIII’s Anglican Church bible and has there been changes as the ‘word of God’ written by human beings been translated to many languages with different versions in the past 2,000 years?” These questions point to the profundity of the death of the Subject felt in various disciplines of knowledge-formation. Do we really “know” what we think we know?

Compared to the natural sciences, the social sciences have always been suspect. With no mathematical equations or reproducible experiments to back data, the social sciences seem to explain phenomena with nothing but air. With the arrival of reflectivists theories, this is even more evident. But the science of the social deals not with rocks or plants or atoms but with human lives, is it not reassuring that there be as many versions of truths as there are thinking individuals?

The Constant Gardener

This film appeals to me in so many levels, its difficult to explain. It talks about Africa (and you know I believe I was an African in a past life), of poverty, of foreign policy, of the greed of capital, of humanity. It will appeal to those whose horizons do not stop at the water's edge. It will appeal to those with messianic tendencies. It will appeal to cinéastes with a taste for incredibly well-made and meaningful films.

Here is a Village Voice review written by Michael Atkinson:

For an English-language movie with recognizable stars, its measure of social maturity can be startling, but it's also a bristling demonstration of the formal difficulty of liberal narrative, and of ambitious third-world tourist-cinema. When does the rapturous filming of, and gazing upon, poverty become capitalization, and class shame become entertainment?

It helps that The Constant Gardener is itself concerned with the profound discomfort of postcolonial activity in Africa. Even well-intended white interventions raise more questions about responsibility and conscience than they answer; le Carré is peerlessly adept at rephrasing those questions in fictional terms. This isn't lost on Meirelles, whose Miramax moneymaker City of God has been both revered and slammed for its pow-whiz-splat pyrotechnics but which also maintained the maze-like plotting of its source novel. A master of offbeat compositions, Meirelles cannot help overheating his Avid, and the new film has City of God's Tourette's-esque editing strategy.

For its first third or so, The Constant Gardener bops between now and then, joy and grief. Now, Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), a shy, low-rung British diplomat and horticultural hobbyist in Kenya, learns that his activist wife was found dead on the veld; then, Quayle meets outspoken lefty Tessa (Rachel Weisz) in London, falls in love, and decides at her prodding to take her back with him to Africa.

To read the rest, click here.

Romance and Other Mathematics

ROMANCE MATHEMATICS

Smart man + smart woman = romance

Smart man + dumb woman = affair

Dumb man + smart woman = marriage

Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

OFFICE ARITHMETIC

Smart boss + smart employee = profit

Smart boss + dumb employee = production

Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion

Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

SHOPPING MATH

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need.

GENERAL EQUATIONS &STATISTICS

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

HAPPINESS

To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.

To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

LONGEVITY

Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.

PROPENSITY TO CHANGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.

DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING MARRIED

Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

Yeah, ok. So this is a forwarded e-mail. Little written output from me these days...I haven't felt like writing lately :( Anywho...hope you had some laughs!

Cineuropa Film Festival 2005

Cine Europa Screening Schedule
Shangri-La Plaza Mall
Shang Cineplex
FREE ADMISSION!

Millions (Danny Boyle, UK)

Sept 22 7:00 pm
September 25 4:00pm
October 2 1:00pm

The countdown is on- in 7 days' time Britain converts to the Euro. It's the biggest opportunity the criminal world has ever had. Billions of sterling head for the incinerator. When a railway heist goes wrong and an enormous bag of money falls from the sky into the hands of Damian and Anthony, there's only one thing to do- spend it like there's no tomorrow....But how can a 7 and 9 year-old hope to spend a quarter of a million quid a week?

Step by Step (Un HONNETE COMMERÇANT, Philippe Blasband, Belgium and Luxembourg)

September 23 1:00 pm
September 26 7:00 om
September 30 1:00 pm

Two detectives interrogate a retailer called Hubert Verkamen in a Brussels police station. He is suspected of the brutal murder of an entire family. The police officers are convinced that Verkamen is a notorious drug trafficker whom they have never managed to catch red-handed. Verkamen denies the charges but decides to play along with them and thus begins a sophisticated game of cat-and-mouse during which Verkamen pretends to become the criminal they think he is.

Villa des Roses (Frank Van Passel, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

September 23 4:00 pm
September 26 10:00 pm
September 30 4:00 pm

Paris 1913. In the 'Villa des Roses', a small boarding house, the arrival of the new maid, Louise, brings about a welcome change. The male guests try everything they can to seduce Louise, but only the charming Mr Grünewald meets with any success. Louise gives not only her heart to him but also her body. When she discovers that she is pregnant she hides it from him, for it transpires that in the meantime Grünewald has a new focus for his attentions...

Buttoners (Knoflíkári, Czech Republic)

Septmeber 23 7:00 pm
September 27 4:00 pm
September 30 10:00 pm

Twist of fate and the twists of mind of the characters (mostly couples) combine in just the right twinkled absurd way in the interweaving episodes of this comedy. Each of the characters gets a good shot at being sarcastic and each is a sorry loser at some point yet none is turned into the butt of the joke. The place is Prague and the time is August 6th, 1995, except for one episode, set 50 years earlier in unflyable rain in the city of Kokura, Japan.


Dog Nail Clipper (Finland)

September 23 10:00 pm
September 27 7:00 pm
October 2 4:00 pm

Mertsi, an idealist, who even went to war as a volunteer and returned crippled. His overwhelming idealism transforms itself into a small act -that of clipping a dog's nails- and becomes an obsession, and in the end- fails.




The Spanish Apartment (L'auberge espagnole, France/Spain)

September 24 1:00 pm
September 27 10:00 pm
September 30 7:00 pm


As part of a job that he is promised, Xavier, an economics student in his twenties, signs on to a European exchange program in order to gain working knowledge of the Spanish language. Promising that they'll remain close, he says farewell to his loving girlfriend, then heads to Barcelona. Following his arrival, Xavier is soon thrust into a cultural melting pot when he moves into an apartment full of international students. An Italian, an English girl, a boy from Denmark, a young woman from Belgium, a German and a girl from Tarragona all join him in a series of adventures that serve as an initiation to life.


Twinni (Austria)

September 22 10:00 pm
September 25 1:00 pm
September 26 4:00 pm

Great expectations and great dreams. At the age of 13 Jana has to relocate from Vienna to her grandmother’s home in the countryside. Deeply shocked by her parents’ divorce she tries to find warmth and orientation outside of the family. But the strict confines of catholic culture make her become a rebel and let the conflict with her mother escalate. At the end of summer Jana is on the brink of growing up and experiencing her first moments of love.



Kroko (Germany)

September 24 4:00 pm
September 28 10:00 pm
October 1 7:00 pm

She's blond, she's tough, and she's untouchable : the femme fatale of Berlin-Wedding's backstreets. Coolness weighs heavily on Kroko's eyelids. It could be mistaken for boredom - if it weren't for the edge on her voice and her ice-cold readiness to walk right over anybody who stands in her way... She's just as fierce when she's out to have fun, but one of her joy rides ends in a crash and the juvenile court condemns her to do welfare work in a housing project for disabled people.


I Love to Love (Netherlands)

September 24 7:00 pm
September 29 1:00 pm
October 1 10:00 pm

A romantic comedy. Anna is a young woman in her early thirties. When her lover Dirk (a doctor would you believe?) breaks up with her because he wants to give his marriage a chance, she totally freaks out. For her, no more men. Never again! Ever!





A Man Not Wanted (Italy)

September 24 10:00 pm
September 28 4:00 pm
September 29 7:00 pm

Naples in the 80s. Two men with the same name, Antonio Pisapia, are famous and successful: one is a pop singer, the other a soccer player in a Major League team. They have nothing in common, except the name and a destiny of failure and disillusion, when their professional and personal life suddenly collapse. At this point they meet only once, by chance .. The finale is intriguing and unexpected, proving the ability of the young director who is currently considered the Italian most promising author.


Extranjeras (Spain)

September 25 7:00 pm
September 29 10:00 pm
October 1 1:00 pm

The documentary film Extranjeras (Foreign Women) shows the diverse aspects of the lives, hopes and experiences of various immigrant women living in Madrid. A fresh and different look at the social phenomenon of immigration in contemporary Spain.




Faithless (Sweden)

September 25 10:00 pm
September 29 7:00 pm
October 2 7:00 pm

The emotional and riveting drama about three adults caught in a love triangle and the resulting devastating consequences. Written by Ingmar Bergman, adapted and directed by Liv Ullmann, Faithless is loosely based on a true episode in the life of the Swedish director.


Dying to Go Home (Portugal)

October 1 4:00 pm
October 2 10:00 pm

Fantasy fun drama "Mortinho por Chegar a Casa (Dying to Go Home)" portrays a Portuguese immigrant in Amsterdam, who is killed in an accident to awaken in a cemetery as a ghost. Realizing that the only way he can find peace is to have his bones buried in his native land. Santu leaves for his hometown to seek help from his family.

The Joys of the Virtual Market

I've opened shop at Ebay Philippines. You guys might like to check out my wares!!

I've got mostly books, but please drop by every now and then for new stuff on offer. Thanks!

Click here!!!

Compre Exam Part II Question No. 1

I've been avoiding reading the headlines for the past few weeks because it only adds to my headache and woes. But I suppose local headlines can't be avoided, especially news of the
President. She haunts me even in my comprehensive exams. Gah.

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo on Monday evening left for the United States on a commercial flight to attend several meetings at the United Nations highlighted by the Security Council meeting on September 14, which she will preside.

The question, typical of exam questions, was long and circuitous. But in essence it goes something like this:

What is the significance of President Gloria Arroyo's trip to the UN Security Council?

And my answer, which was as long and circuitous as the question, in essence goes something like this:

In the international community, it is something to note that the Philippine president is the first woman and Asian head of state to preside over the most "powerful" (but for the most part inutile) UN body.

But perhaps the trip is more significant to the survival of the Arroyo administration. It is a welcome reprieve for the crisis-ridden Arroyo government. Her trip abroad could very well serve as time to strategize on how she could further survive the onslought of the rabid opposition. Also, it is good press for the Philippine president to show confidence that she can temporarily vacate her seat of power as if a salivating pack of dogs weren't yipping at her heels itching to tear off a piece of her tough hide.

If anything, this opportune UN trip is manna to the administration. It not only gives her time-out from the mud-slinging but also a time to repair the damage done by the Angelo de la Cruz hostage crisis to Philippine-US relations. Now she can personally mend fences and ingratiate herself back into Dubya's embrace. Great.

When she bangs the gavel and declares open the summit on September 14, she will have demonstrated to the rest of the international community that the current Philippine president is the duly elected, legitimate head of state.