======================================================
Thank you, Madam President. You were a woman of courage, love, steadfast faith, unwavering commitment to democracy and moral leadership... and we are your people. We will never forget.
.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
No words...
... only enormous and innermost grief.
======================================================
Thank you, Madam President. You were a woman of courage, love, steadfast faith, unwavering commitment to democracy and moral leadership... and we are your people. We will never forget.
.
======================================================
Thank you, Madam President. You were a woman of courage, love, steadfast faith, unwavering commitment to democracy and moral leadership... and we are your people. We will never forget.
.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The day of the birth
A celebration of life…
======================================================
By Philipina A. Marcelo
July is a special month for me… because it’s my birthmonth! :)
On my birthday this year, I felt very fortunate and so blessed to have received a number of very touching.jpg)
messages… the kind that I wish I’d get as eulogy. It seems sweeter to get them while I’m still up and about, trying to run the last miles to the finish line. They make the final dash to the finish line all the more exhilarating!
Although all messages were very special, I received one that I just know will serve as my rally chant while I try to complete this painstakingly beautiful, absolutely marvelous, insanely hilarious... and sometimes painfully sorrowful... but definitely joyful marathon along this scenic path called life:
God is life
Forever is measured
not by years nor months
but by moments that inspire life’s unfolding.
And moments are bounded
not by space nor time
but by meanings too fragile for human knowing.
To live and love
each present moment
in its utter meaningfulness,
only then can one be immortal
and hold close to one’s heart
the secrets of eternity.
Happy birthday!
And I had one, too, thanks... especially that Roger Federer won his record breaking 15th singles Grand Slam title on the day I celebrated my birthday with my whole family (see photo)! :)
Indeed, it feels like I have been re-born, given a new set of spectacles to view life from a new and refreshing perspective... while I marvel on the finish line emerging in the horizon.
So... race you to eternity? :) Naah, I prefer a leisure walk... but I'll see you at the finish line. All roads seem to lead that way anyway....
***
======================================================
By Philipina A. Marcelo
July is a special month for me… because it’s my birthmonth! :)
On my birthday this year, I felt very fortunate and so blessed to have received a number of very touching
.jpg)
messages… the kind that I wish I’d get as eulogy. It seems sweeter to get them while I’m still up and about, trying to run the last miles to the finish line. They make the final dash to the finish line all the more exhilarating! .jpg){kind=link}
Although all messages were very special, I received one that I just know will serve as my rally chant while I try to complete this painstakingly beautiful, absolutely marvelous, insanely hilarious... and sometimes painfully sorrowful... but definitely joyful marathon along this scenic path called life:
God is life
Forever is measured
not by years nor months
but by moments that inspire life’s unfolding.
And moments are bounded
not by space nor time
but by meanings too fragile for human knowing.
To live and love
each present moment
in its utter meaningfulness,
only then can one be immortal
and hold close to one’s heart
the secrets of eternity.
Happy birthday!
And I had one, too, thanks... especially that Roger Federer won his record breaking 15th singles Grand Slam title on the day I celebrated my birthday with my whole family (see photo)! :)
Indeed, it feels like I have been re-born, given a new set of spectacles to view life from a new and refreshing perspective... while I marvel on the finish line emerging in the horizon.
So... race you to eternity? :) Naah, I prefer a leisure walk... but I'll see you at the finish line. All roads seem to lead that way anyway....
***
Sunday, June 28, 2009
It’s human nature…
A grief-stricken fan say goodbye to a legendary artist that helped define her teenage life.
======================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
Just a week ago or so, I was watching cable news with a story about Michael Jackson’s 50-performance “This is it” tour, which was set to kick-off at the O2 arena in London in two weeks time. Just like all news about MJ these days, it was peppered with all those pedophile and extreme weirdness tales, plus a good serving of stories about his supposed gigantic debts and personal troubles… very little on
his music and his phenomenal achievements. If I weren’t following the Iran story, I would’ve pressed the “off” button in my remote control! I winced and sighed through the whole story.
On Friday, June 25, at 8:17 AM (Manila time), I was still trying to get a good night’s sleep off my eyes when I received a text message from my sister saying, “Hey, you know what, Michael Jackson is dead!” Recalling the “weirdness stories” on cable news some days back, I waved the text aside with a sigh and jokingly texted my sister back with, “Good for him! Now his troubles are over!”
I got up and automatically switched on my computer while I did my morning rituals and made myself coffee. I sat down in front of my computer and went on-line… my browser automatically took me to MSN. A banner of a headline dominated the page. It was about the passing of a pop icon. Somewhere in the headline, I saw “Michael Jackson”! I blinked and gulped my coffee in one go – this might be a nightmare! The hot liquid burned my lips and throat, and I yelped, “aaaaawww!” All of a sudden an “Aaaww”-peppered music that accompanied me from childhood to adulthood filled the room, and my hands started to shake. At that point another sister stormed into my room and said in an I’ll-be-damned panicked voice, “you gotta see the news – quick!” I followed her blindly to her room and flopped on the seat in front of her TV, which was tuned in to CNN. I saw the grim look in the usually composed, if not cheerful, face of Anjali Rao and my heart started to beat fast. And then, I saw images of grief-stricken people frantically running around the UCLA hospital, and a current photo of Michael Jackson in a box on the corner of the screen… below the photo, it read, “1958 – 2009”. I froze. Cold crept from my toes to the tips of my hair, and all I heard was the loud thumping of my heart.
* * *
Michael Jackson is gone.
I felt my lungs constrict and a huge bubble blocked my air passage and my throat, it made breathing such a labor. I swallowed hard to clear it, but it sat there and plugged my throat painfully. It must have been more than an hour after I realized that my sister already left for work and I was alone in her room staring absently at the TV screen. In my head Michael Jackson’s songs were narrating my life….
“Happy” – the very first record I ever owned in my life – single, in vinyl disk. I learned the word “concert” through The Jackson 5 concert in Araneta
Coliseum in Manila where, at six years, I instantly fell for that cute teen with a sweet voice and groovy moves called Michael Jackson when he sang “Ben”. “Don’t stop ‘til you get enough” and “Rock with You” from his “Off the Wall” album veered us away from the cheesiness of “disco” music to a different kind of dance tunes and dance moves – the very ingredients that gave birth to “pop music” as we know it today. These were the songs that catapulted MJ to gigastardom. The same songs that my siblings and I used to dance to while growing up, copying MJ’s moves and trying to compete as to who had the fastest and fanciest foot works. That kept us away from all those trouble-inducing teen and pre-teen rebellious activities – a good reason why even my late Mom was a big fan of MJ’s. Indeed, "Off the Wall" was a fulfilment of the magnificent promise of Michael's brilliant star as a solo artist. And the world craved for more!
* * *
In the 80’s, when my siblings and I were teenagers, “Thriller” came out. It was such a phenomenon! Michael Jackson grew from this prodigy to this phenomenal artistic force that was bound to capture every single individual whose soul responded to music. Michael’s soul, embodied in his music, was a consuming fire that caught the whole world. His performances revealed the powerful passion for musical artistry that defined every note he sang and every single move he made… and it set the whole
world ablaze! Those energetic yet graceful spins halted by a fancy foot work and a pose, those signature waist-high kicks accompanied by arm and head movements that went fluidly with the tempo of his music, and that moonwalk, oh yeah, that Michael Jackson moonwalk – awesome dance moves that put a signature on Michael’s performances, and copied by many until now. He was a performance dynamo on stage – totally elevating music concerts from a mere 90-minute entertainment to an unforgettable experience.
Seeing Michael’s unbelievable dance moves and impassioned rendition of his songs on screen, the music industry realized the power of music video in taking people’s appreciation of music to a different level. Michael seemed to understand this from the very beginning. Even when he was just this little boy from Gary, Indiana, in colorful matching outfits, he danced energetically with his brothers while singing “Rockin’ Robin” with such infectious gusto that elicited delighted response from his audience. As a solo artist in “Off the Wall”, he started concocting a formula for the now vintage Michael Jackson sing-and-dance performances. Gifted singer and dancer as he was, his star shone even brighter. When another music genius, Quincy Jones, gave him a powerful vehicle to explore his understanding of “total performance” in “Billie Jean” – another big song from the album “Thriller” – Michael took it. And, boy, did he hit home! He sang and danced his way to the heart of every single TV-owning individual all over the globe via MTV. When "Beat it" came out, thanks to MTV, almost every single teenager on the planet was wearing be-zippered red jacket over black trousers, and black shoes with white socks!
* * *
Accompanying MJ’s bright star’s rise to universal level was the boom of music videos, and the (re)birth of MTV as we know it today. Suddenly, music became a visual art, too! And Michael started re-painting himself through unique and colorful, albeit eccentric, wardrobe and bling-blings, such as those sequined gloves and dark glasses that made every single appearance on TV totally interesting to his
fans. But his music and his to-the-max performances remained to be the reason why he was the undisputed King of Pop.
Not satisfied with the blings, he started experimenting on cosmetic surgery, too. That time, his music, which was brilliant, was all that mattered that any such eccentricities were overlooked… or forgiven. He was the King of Pop, he can’t go wrong. His records and music videos continued to dominate the charts. Because of the rise of MTV, partly through Michael’s stardom, the influence of music became more widely encompassing. In fact, when “Thriller” came out, the world was one in singing and dancing to the same song – “Thriller”, breaking all kinds of cultural barriers. And it made Michael Jackson and his music the iconic legend in the glorious days of the pop music era!
Needless to say, I was one of them teary-eyed fans whenever Michael waved his gloved hand.
* * *
He used his gigastar status to help alleviate problems in the world, too. He played an important role in putting together “USA for Africa” to bring about much needed relief from hunger to Ethiopia. Wherever he went to perform, he would visit places of grief-stricken individuals to bring cheers to them through his music and
company. He promoted music among young people as a means of expressing themselves in a positive way. His example was emulated by other artists, putting a humane face to the entertainment business. Young people, like myself then, were all about good music and good cause… and the King of Pop was in the center of it all.
And then, the cosmetic surgery experiments were brought to the extremes. Suddenly, he emerged as a very different person – physically… and yet, he oozed the same Michael Jackson magic when he performed. His music was constantly evolving… a real genius, he kept his music current... because he can! From the fast dance rhythm of his “Off the Wall” songs, to the rock/dance concoctions of the “Thriller” songs, to the angry pop/rock sound he offered in “Bad”, he was brilliant. When his 80’s contemporaries retreated to being superstars of the past, he and his music remained relevant even when a wave of new artists were coming in.
Privately, however, he seemed to be succumbing deeper and deeper to the pit of his lonely existence in the glory of his legend. And, the more extreme the eccentricities went. In the meantime, the pop music landscape was slowly changing, and the pop media became more and more ferocious in its transformation to an industry of extreme sensationalism of celebrity stories. The discrete curbing of celebrity privacy became a complete disregard of privacy – it became almost a human rights violation! And, the King of Pop, was the easy target. Because more and more new artists were emerging and planting themselves in the new pop landscape, the genius of the Michael Jackson artistry was reduced by the overbearing pop media, to a mere laughing matter. More than anything else, they were interested in reporting how many cosmetic surgeries MJ had had within a month… perhaps, there was nothing else to report, too. Or, perhaps… it was human nature?
Then came the child molestation charges… the ferocious pop media had a field day, and Michael underwent a trial by publicity… all the music genius forgotten, all the record-breaking achievements set aside, all the humanitarian activities all throughout his career thrown out of the window, his privacy ignored and disrespected. All the public saw, especially those who knew very little of Michael’s great legend, was the image painted by the pop media of a recluse cosmetically deformed pedophile. At that point, I started avoiding any news story about MJ. I consoled myself with the beautiful music he made and the wonderful things that it did to people in a generation where artistry is most important rather than anything else.
* * *
No, I’m not about to say that Michael Jackson is the greatest pop artist to grace this lifetime as an apology for all the horrible publicities he endured while he struggled to embrace his life on stage. Although some people might say he did it to himself, and it may not be completely untrue, he still deserved so much more than that. It was sad that when he most needed it, the industry that thrived on his genius for a long time couldn’t come up with anything better than calling him Wacko Jacko. If it’s any consolation, at least he could say he had “Music and Me”.
After another hour of Michael Jackson’s death coverage in the news, I switched off the TV defeatedly and went back to my computer. I surfed through my iTunes list of Michael Jackson music… I had so many. But at that moment, there was only one Michael Jackson song playing in my head…
“… get me out into the night time
four walls won’t hold me tonight.
If this town is just an apple,
then let me take a bite.
If they say why, why, tell ‘em that is human nature…”
I saw my childhood, teenage days and young adulthood passing before my eyes, engulfed in Michael Jackson’s soulful voice… my heart was breaking. I tried to
breathe, it was hard. Suddenly, the bubble in my air passage burst, and it sent me convulsing in tears.
I may not have known Michael Jackson the person, but I do have a 'relationship' with his music, like most 80's people do - his artistry totally defined that era. And he taught us how to yelp, “aaawww” with feelings! It's sad, of course, that he couldn't handle the brilliance of his star and, in the end, it sent him to a downward spiral that even him cannot save himself from... not that he knew how to. And people didn't make it any easier for him either.
But what the heck… go ahead, MJ, take a bite, "Don't stop 'til you get enough"… and if they say why, why, I’ll tell ‘em that is human nature.
.
======================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
Just a week ago or so, I was watching cable news with a story about Michael Jackson’s 50-performance “This is it” tour, which was set to kick-off at the O2 arena in London in two weeks time. Just like all news about MJ these days, it was peppered with all those pedophile and extreme weirdness tales, plus a good serving of stories about his supposed gigantic debts and personal troubles… very little on
his music and his phenomenal achievements. If I weren’t following the Iran story, I would’ve pressed the “off” button in my remote control! I winced and sighed through the whole story.On Friday, June 25, at 8:17 AM (Manila time), I was still trying to get a good night’s sleep off my eyes when I received a text message from my sister saying, “Hey, you know what, Michael Jackson is dead!” Recalling the “weirdness stories” on cable news some days back, I waved the text aside with a sigh and jokingly texted my sister back with, “Good for him! Now his troubles are over!”
I got up and automatically switched on my computer while I did my morning rituals and made myself coffee. I sat down in front of my computer and went on-line… my browser automatically took me to MSN. A banner of a headline dominated the page. It was about the passing of a pop icon. Somewhere in the headline, I saw “Michael Jackson”! I blinked and gulped my coffee in one go – this might be a nightmare! The hot liquid burned my lips and throat, and I yelped, “aaaaawww!” All of a sudden an “Aaaww”-peppered music that accompanied me from childhood to adulthood filled the room, and my hands started to shake. At that point another sister stormed into my room and said in an I’ll-be-damned panicked voice, “you gotta see the news – quick!” I followed her blindly to her room and flopped on the seat in front of her TV, which was tuned in to CNN. I saw the grim look in the usually composed, if not cheerful, face of Anjali Rao and my heart started to beat fast. And then, I saw images of grief-stricken people frantically running around the UCLA hospital, and a current photo of Michael Jackson in a box on the corner of the screen… below the photo, it read, “1958 – 2009”. I froze. Cold crept from my toes to the tips of my hair, and all I heard was the loud thumping of my heart.
* * *
Michael Jackson is gone.
I felt my lungs constrict and a huge bubble blocked my air passage and my throat, it made breathing such a labor. I swallowed hard to clear it, but it sat there and plugged my throat painfully. It must have been more than an hour after I realized that my sister already left for work and I was alone in her room staring absently at the TV screen. In my head Michael Jackson’s songs were narrating my life….
“Happy” – the very first record I ever owned in my life – single, in vinyl disk. I learned the word “concert” through The Jackson 5 concert in Araneta
Coliseum in Manila where, at six years, I instantly fell for that cute teen with a sweet voice and groovy moves called Michael Jackson when he sang “Ben”. “Don’t stop ‘til you get enough” and “Rock with You” from his “Off the Wall” album veered us away from the cheesiness of “disco” music to a different kind of dance tunes and dance moves – the very ingredients that gave birth to “pop music” as we know it today. These were the songs that catapulted MJ to gigastardom. The same songs that my siblings and I used to dance to while growing up, copying MJ’s moves and trying to compete as to who had the fastest and fanciest foot works. That kept us away from all those trouble-inducing teen and pre-teen rebellious activities – a good reason why even my late Mom was a big fan of MJ’s. Indeed, "Off the Wall" was a fulfilment of the magnificent promise of Michael's brilliant star as a solo artist. And the world craved for more!* * *
In the 80’s, when my siblings and I were teenagers, “Thriller” came out. It was such a phenomenon! Michael Jackson grew from this prodigy to this phenomenal artistic force that was bound to capture every single individual whose soul responded to music. Michael’s soul, embodied in his music, was a consuming fire that caught the whole world. His performances revealed the powerful passion for musical artistry that defined every note he sang and every single move he made… and it set the whole
world ablaze! Those energetic yet graceful spins halted by a fancy foot work and a pose, those signature waist-high kicks accompanied by arm and head movements that went fluidly with the tempo of his music, and that moonwalk, oh yeah, that Michael Jackson moonwalk – awesome dance moves that put a signature on Michael’s performances, and copied by many until now. He was a performance dynamo on stage – totally elevating music concerts from a mere 90-minute entertainment to an unforgettable experience.
Seeing Michael’s unbelievable dance moves and impassioned rendition of his songs on screen, the music industry realized the power of music video in taking people’s appreciation of music to a different level. Michael seemed to understand this from the very beginning. Even when he was just this little boy from Gary, Indiana, in colorful matching outfits, he danced energetically with his brothers while singing “Rockin’ Robin” with such infectious gusto that elicited delighted response from his audience. As a solo artist in “Off the Wall”, he started concocting a formula for the now vintage Michael Jackson sing-and-dance performances. Gifted singer and dancer as he was, his star shone even brighter. When another music genius, Quincy Jones, gave him a powerful vehicle to explore his understanding of “total performance” in “Billie Jean” – another big song from the album “Thriller” – Michael took it. And, boy, did he hit home! He sang and danced his way to the heart of every single TV-owning individual all over the globe via MTV. When "Beat it" came out, thanks to MTV, almost every single teenager on the planet was wearing be-zippered red jacket over black trousers, and black shoes with white socks!
* * *
Accompanying MJ’s bright star’s rise to universal level was the boom of music videos, and the (re)birth of MTV as we know it today. Suddenly, music became a visual art, too! And Michael started re-painting himself through unique and colorful, albeit eccentric, wardrobe and bling-blings, such as those sequined gloves and dark glasses that made every single appearance on TV totally interesting to his
fans. But his music and his to-the-max performances remained to be the reason why he was the undisputed King of Pop.
Not satisfied with the blings, he started experimenting on cosmetic surgery, too. That time, his music, which was brilliant, was all that mattered that any such eccentricities were overlooked… or forgiven. He was the King of Pop, he can’t go wrong. His records and music videos continued to dominate the charts. Because of the rise of MTV, partly through Michael’s stardom, the influence of music became more widely encompassing. In fact, when “Thriller” came out, the world was one in singing and dancing to the same song – “Thriller”, breaking all kinds of cultural barriers. And it made Michael Jackson and his music the iconic legend in the glorious days of the pop music era!
Needless to say, I was one of them teary-eyed fans whenever Michael waved his gloved hand.
* * *
He used his gigastar status to help alleviate problems in the world, too. He played an important role in putting together “USA for Africa” to bring about much needed relief from hunger to Ethiopia. Wherever he went to perform, he would visit places of grief-stricken individuals to bring cheers to them through his music and
company. He promoted music among young people as a means of expressing themselves in a positive way. His example was emulated by other artists, putting a humane face to the entertainment business. Young people, like myself then, were all about good music and good cause… and the King of Pop was in the center of it all.
And then, the cosmetic surgery experiments were brought to the extremes. Suddenly, he emerged as a very different person – physically… and yet, he oozed the same Michael Jackson magic when he performed. His music was constantly evolving… a real genius, he kept his music current... because he can! From the fast dance rhythm of his “Off the Wall” songs, to the rock/dance concoctions of the “Thriller” songs, to the angry pop/rock sound he offered in “Bad”, he was brilliant. When his 80’s contemporaries retreated to being superstars of the past, he and his music remained relevant even when a wave of new artists were coming in.
Privately, however, he seemed to be succumbing deeper and deeper to the pit of his lonely existence in the glory of his legend. And, the more extreme the eccentricities went. In the meantime, the pop music landscape was slowly changing, and the pop media became more and more ferocious in its transformation to an industry of extreme sensationalism of celebrity stories. The discrete curbing of celebrity privacy became a complete disregard of privacy – it became almost a human rights violation! And, the King of Pop, was the easy target. Because more and more new artists were emerging and planting themselves in the new pop landscape, the genius of the Michael Jackson artistry was reduced by the overbearing pop media, to a mere laughing matter. More than anything else, they were interested in reporting how many cosmetic surgeries MJ had had within a month… perhaps, there was nothing else to report, too. Or, perhaps… it was human nature?
Then came the child molestation charges… the ferocious pop media had a field day, and Michael underwent a trial by publicity… all the music genius forgotten, all the record-breaking achievements set aside, all the humanitarian activities all throughout his career thrown out of the window, his privacy ignored and disrespected. All the public saw, especially those who knew very little of Michael’s great legend, was the image painted by the pop media of a recluse cosmetically deformed pedophile. At that point, I started avoiding any news story about MJ. I consoled myself with the beautiful music he made and the wonderful things that it did to people in a generation where artistry is most important rather than anything else.
* * *
No, I’m not about to say that Michael Jackson is the greatest pop artist to grace this lifetime as an apology for all the horrible publicities he endured while he struggled to embrace his life on stage. Although some people might say he did it to himself, and it may not be completely untrue, he still deserved so much more than that. It was sad that when he most needed it, the industry that thrived on his genius for a long time couldn’t come up with anything better than calling him Wacko Jacko. If it’s any consolation, at least he could say he had “Music and Me”.
After another hour of Michael Jackson’s death coverage in the news, I switched off the TV defeatedly and went back to my computer. I surfed through my iTunes list of Michael Jackson music… I had so many. But at that moment, there was only one Michael Jackson song playing in my head…
“… get me out into the night time
four walls won’t hold me tonight.
If this town is just an apple,
then let me take a bite.
If they say why, why, tell ‘em that is human nature…”
I saw my childhood, teenage days and young adulthood passing before my eyes, engulfed in Michael Jackson’s soulful voice… my heart was breaking. I tried to
breathe, it was hard. Suddenly, the bubble in my air passage burst, and it sent me convulsing in tears.
I may not have known Michael Jackson the person, but I do have a 'relationship' with his music, like most 80's people do - his artistry totally defined that era. And he taught us how to yelp, “aaawww” with feelings! It's sad, of course, that he couldn't handle the brilliance of his star and, in the end, it sent him to a downward spiral that even him cannot save himself from... not that he knew how to. And people didn't make it any easier for him either.
But what the heck… go ahead, MJ, take a bite, "Don't stop 'til you get enough"… and if they say why, why, I’ll tell ‘em that is human nature.
.
Friday, May 22, 2009
The day the stars aligned in Asian skies
====================================================
After seeing those heartfelt smiles on Asian faces because of this article,
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13649520,
Asians have another great reason to rejoice for: the Indian elections (http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13692881). With keywords and phrases like "democracy", "limits of divisive politics", "reformist instincts", and "inclusive growth", it is truly a heartening news.
Not only does it have beautiful traditions and colorful culture, indeed, "India is a land of bright promise."
.
After seeing those heartfelt smiles on Asian faces because of this article,
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13649520,
Asians have another great reason to rejoice for: the Indian elections (http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13692881). With keywords and phrases like "democracy", "limits of divisive politics", "reformist instincts", and "inclusive growth", it is truly a heartening news.
Not only does it have beautiful traditions and colorful culture, indeed, "India is a land of bright promise."
.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Super-currency or Super-strategy?
So many questions, very few answers....
====================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
Just a few days ago, I was trying to make sense out of Mr. Zhou Xiaochuan’s call for the world to adopt a “super-currency” rather than continuing to use the US dollar as the reserve currency. My extremely limited grasp of Economics was failing me miserably, that I ended up asking more questions after trying to understand the issue. I was hoping to hear some enlightenment from Tim Geithner, but as usual, the Economics guru, Prof. Paul Krugman, who was probably feeling the pain of folks of my kind came to our rescue, breaking down the issue nicely in: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/opinion/03krugman.html?_r=1&em.
It seems that Prof. Krugman’s explanation exposes China’s efforts toward self protectionism, first and foremost, with little regard for the global economy’s desperate need to be rescued through a sustainable solution. Or, could it be that the solution that Beijing offers is the sustainable solution - as Tim Geithner seems inclined to acknowledge? But then again, as Prof. Krugman pointed out, we are currently in an economic situation that is completely new to all of us… there might not be an absolute solution to this crisis as of yet. As for the suggestion that China made investment mistake (which obviously it did), and is now trying to correct that by making someone rescue them, to me, it appears that they’re doing this under the guise of protecting the world economy through a “super-currency”. Didn’t I say enigma? But to be fair to Beijing, there was no way for them to know that they were making a mistake a decade ago... in fact, there was no way for them to know even when stock markets in all parts of the world were crashing left and right, right? And even if they realized that they made a mistake, the speed at which events unfolded was way too fast for the Beijing problem to be remedied fast enough. No one could’ve predicted the economic downturn that we are facing today, not even the Wall Street hotshots… well, especially not the Wall Street hotshots, actually, for they were just too busy amassing money for themselves! Thanks to "greed and stupidity" underneath those expensive suits and in those fancy offices, we’re in a financial quagmire right now! (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/opinion/03brooks.html?em)
OK, now, calm down... no point in getting an unremorseful lot to take resposibility for their horrible actions... They have already shown us how they're in it for the money - and that's it, so that even when the world economy is already down on its knees, their primary concern remains to be money, bonuses, and all other things synonymous to money! Take AIG for example.... (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15AIG.html?scp=11&sq=AIG%20Bonuses&st=cse)
As Prof. Krugman and George Soros (via BBC) suggested, the financial world that we knew a few months ago no longer exists, and we’re faced with an entirely different world that, to me, may require a unique strategy for it to thrive. That “super-strategy”, to my mind, should result from a multi-lateral decision among the stalwarts of world financial architecture, which should be based on common interests. Therefore, shouldn’t China and its BRIC (Brazil, Russia and India) allies just cooperate with other world financial stalwarts for now rather than using devisive economic politics to push for drastic measures that may prove even more catastrophic – even to them - in the future? Although I sympathatize with Brazil because its economy grew to what it is today mostly through home-grown business ventures and local market-centered strategies, unlike China and India whose economic growth was based largely on international trade and political alliances, mostly with the US, and therefore, Brazil's irk is justified... still, is self -protectionism the way to go to respond to this crisis?
Yes, I’m still asking questions here! And, as George Soros pointed out, perhaps, the recently concluded G20 Summit in London is a good start to forge strong economic alliance among nations and design a "super-strategy" to "lay a new foundation" for a more sustainable global economic landscape. And, as we think about our "super-strategy", let me ask... how about values and ethics, accountability and responsibility? If at all, how would their inclusion into the "new foundation" bring about a robust and more sustainable world economy? If they're incorporated into the matrix of the "new foundation", would that drive the last nail to the coffin of the old Wall Street and the fundametals of Anglo-American capitalism as we knew it a few months back?
.
====================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
Just a few days ago, I was trying to make sense out of Mr. Zhou Xiaochuan’s call for the world to adopt a “super-currency” rather than continuing to use the US dollar as the reserve currency. My extremely limited grasp of Economics was failing me miserably, that I ended up asking more questions after trying to understand the issue. I was hoping to hear some enlightenment from Tim Geithner, but as usual, the Economics guru, Prof. Paul Krugman, who was probably feeling the pain of folks of my kind came to our rescue, breaking down the issue nicely in: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/opinion/03krugman.html?_r=1&em.
It seems that Prof. Krugman’s explanation exposes China’s efforts toward self protectionism, first and foremost, with little regard for the global economy’s desperate need to be rescued through a sustainable solution. Or, could it be that the solution that Beijing offers is the sustainable solution - as Tim Geithner seems inclined to acknowledge? But then again, as Prof. Krugman pointed out, we are currently in an economic situation that is completely new to all of us… there might not be an absolute solution to this crisis as of yet. As for the suggestion that China made investment mistake (which obviously it did), and is now trying to correct that by making someone rescue them, to me, it appears that they’re doing this under the guise of protecting the world economy through a “super-currency”. Didn’t I say enigma? But to be fair to Beijing, there was no way for them to know that they were making a mistake a decade ago... in fact, there was no way for them to know even when stock markets in all parts of the world were crashing left and right, right? And even if they realized that they made a mistake, the speed at which events unfolded was way too fast for the Beijing problem to be remedied fast enough. No one could’ve predicted the economic downturn that we are facing today, not even the Wall Street hotshots… well, especially not the Wall Street hotshots, actually, for they were just too busy amassing money for themselves! Thanks to "greed and stupidity" underneath those expensive suits and in those fancy offices, we’re in a financial quagmire right now! (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/opinion/03brooks.html?em)
OK, now, calm down... no point in getting an unremorseful lot to take resposibility for their horrible actions... They have already shown us how they're in it for the money - and that's it, so that even when the world economy is already down on its knees, their primary concern remains to be money, bonuses, and all other things synonymous to money! Take AIG for example.... (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15AIG.html?scp=11&sq=AIG%20Bonuses&st=cse)
As Prof. Krugman and George Soros (via BBC) suggested, the financial world that we knew a few months ago no longer exists, and we’re faced with an entirely different world that, to me, may require a unique strategy for it to thrive. That “super-strategy”, to my mind, should result from a multi-lateral decision among the stalwarts of world financial architecture, which should be based on common interests. Therefore, shouldn’t China and its BRIC (Brazil, Russia and India) allies just cooperate with other world financial stalwarts for now rather than using devisive economic politics to push for drastic measures that may prove even more catastrophic – even to them - in the future? Although I sympathatize with Brazil because its economy grew to what it is today mostly through home-grown business ventures and local market-centered strategies, unlike China and India whose economic growth was based largely on international trade and political alliances, mostly with the US, and therefore, Brazil's irk is justified... still, is self -protectionism the way to go to respond to this crisis?
Yes, I’m still asking questions here! And, as George Soros pointed out, perhaps, the recently concluded G20 Summit in London is a good start to forge strong economic alliance among nations and design a "super-strategy" to "lay a new foundation" for a more sustainable global economic landscape. And, as we think about our "super-strategy", let me ask... how about values and ethics, accountability and responsibility? If at all, how would their inclusion into the "new foundation" bring about a robust and more sustainable world economy? If they're incorporated into the matrix of the "new foundation", would that drive the last nail to the coffin of the old Wall Street and the fundametals of Anglo-American capitalism as we knew it a few months back?
.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Dollarrefic-not
A reluctant blogger is back from a job-imposed hiatus.
======================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
More than two months??? Has it been that long since I last visited my own blog? Wow! Busy, busy me! But this doesn't mean that I stopped reading the New York Times, Economist and, uh, TMS Comicspage… nor did I stop watching Jon Stewart (who has been reaching a new height of awesomeness these days) and Stephen Colbert, or Stephen Sackur, ‘cause I’ve not! I was just too preoccupied with a number of urgent things. Besides, I crashed my laptop… uh, again – my second within 15 months, and my third within 24 months! If the rate of computer crash is indicative of a person's stress level, then mine must be in the MPa range!
Yes, I was one of those stress-ravaged teachers struggling to reach the Academic Year's finish line, it was even impossible to squeeze out 30 minutes from my sked to visit the salon for a manicure/pedicure for more than a month! But now that we have just sent off 52 new chemical engineers to the real world, and helped more than a hundred more aspirants move one step closer to getting sent off soon, I say, I’m “mission accomplished” this Academic Year! Now, I deserve some blogging time before planning a “real vacation”… which, hopefully, would take me to the Great Wall of China, or the ruins of Greece, or the Pyramids of Egypt… and, uh, good old Disneyland (haha…)? Yah!
Speaking of China, on my first day of freedom from the bondage of grading test papers, I found this article on the Economist.com:
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13382566&fsrc=nwl
Oh, boy, here we go again... Tim Geithner better have a compelling argument against this one! No more sleeping at the switch for you now, pretty boy! And no more strutting at the ball court for you, too, Mr. President (Obama, that is)! In case you haven’t noticed, sir, uh, the presidential campaign period is already over. Majority of us in the free world have already decided that you’re cute enough for an un-photoshopped photograph… and that yeah, you could make a great leader, too... well, a great leader, first and foremost, actually. Now, maybe it’s time to actually lead? Well, OK… let me be fair and say, great job on the Gitmo plan, American troops withdrawal from Iraq plan and the handling of the Afghanistan/Pakistan issue so far. But, I digress….
Back to the Economist article… just when the Obama economic team is finally seeing a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel, after that two-week of numbers in green and upward arrows in the stock market, China issued a challenge with arguments that make sense, especially for them – right now. And, like a flash of lightning, the red numbers are back!
As per the Economist article, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, Mr. Zhou Xiaochuan, suggested that rather than continuing to use the US dollar as the foreign reserve currency, perhaps, it would be more beneficial for the financial systems around the world if governments used a synthetic currency, such as that of the IMF's special drawing rights (SDR), which is based on the weighted average of the dollar, euro, yen and pound. To my mind, a plan like this would help shield other countries from Wall Street risky financial somersaults in the future (not that the Knights of Greed would still dare when the dollar power diminishes more than it already has), and to recover from today’s financial crisis in a way that would be somewhat independent from the US’ own recovery strategy. It might just be a good idea, especially for China... or, mostly for China? (dammit, this is one of those days when I wish I minored in Economics!).
But what would such scenario do to market globalization? Wouldn’t this lessen the motivation among countries to sustain activities in the global market and focus instead on local market? For instance, isn’t it that the reason why China’s economy reached its present status – big enough to challenge and influence the Washington D.C. financial architects’ thinking – is because of the US opening up of its market to Chinese manufactured goods over the past two decades, which strengthened China’s manufacturing industry, even when local consumption is low? In the process, the US was also able to penetrate the Chinese soil to take advantage of cheap labor through partnerships with state-owned businesses? Back in those days, the dollar being the dominant currency as well as the reserve currency was beneficial to both countries – it brought stability to China’s economy and boosted that of the US. Although Washington D.C. could not claim a direct influence on Chinese political landscape (but hey, is there any government that can?), which remains to be an enigma to the whole world until now, it did enjoy considerable regard on financial-driven decisions in Beijing over the past two decades because of such bilateral business arrangements that contributed to an active global market. Many political analysts viewed this as maybe the “softening” of Beijing on an American handshake. Now, I wonder what those political analysts are thinking now! Are we seeing a shift of tide here? Is that good or bad? (No, I’m not asking for a Wall Street opinion here, thank you very much!!!) And just how does the Chinese’ “sovereign fund”, which I presume is in dollars, figure in all this? Just how large is it really that Beijing feels compelled to push for the end of dollar dominance in response to the US’ financial recovery strategy of “printing loads of money” that might hurt the dollar’s value? Just what, or how much, is at stake for China here? Sorry for asking, I’m just being my curious, academic self, that’s all.
So, are we really seeing the last days of dollar dominance? Just imagine how those Sarah Palinish Americans who still think that Asians lived on treetops would react to this! Haha… OK, I’m being silly, sorry. Going back… although Mr. Zhou Xiaochuan raised valid points (in favor of China, of course), to me, the more compelling argument is still this: “Mr. Zhou’s plan could win support from other emerging economies with large reserves. However, it is unlikely to get off the ground in the near future. It would take years for the SDR to be widely accepted as a means of exchange and a store of value. The total amount of SDRs outstanding is equivalent to only $32 billion, or less than 2% of China’s foreign-exchange reserves, compared with $11 trillion of American Treasury bonds.” On second thought… we mustn’t forget, we’re talking about an enigma here.
Wait, did I forget to include Taj Mahal in my must-see list this summer? Whatever, I’ll go to Palawan! Yah!
.
======================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
More than two months??? Has it been that long since I last visited my own blog? Wow! Busy, busy me! But this doesn't mean that I stopped reading the New York Times, Economist and, uh, TMS Comicspage… nor did I stop watching Jon Stewart (who has been reaching a new height of awesomeness these days) and Stephen Colbert, or Stephen Sackur, ‘cause I’ve not! I was just too preoccupied with a number of urgent things. Besides, I crashed my laptop… uh, again – my second within 15 months, and my third within 24 months! If the rate of computer crash is indicative of a person's stress level, then mine must be in the MPa range!
Yes, I was one of those stress-ravaged teachers struggling to reach the Academic Year's finish line, it was even impossible to squeeze out 30 minutes from my sked to visit the salon for a manicure/pedicure for more than a month! But now that we have just sent off 52 new chemical engineers to the real world, and helped more than a hundred more aspirants move one step closer to getting sent off soon, I say, I’m “mission accomplished” this Academic Year! Now, I deserve some blogging time before planning a “real vacation”… which, hopefully, would take me to the Great Wall of China, or the ruins of Greece, or the Pyramids of Egypt… and, uh, good old Disneyland (haha…)? Yah!
Speaking of China, on my first day of freedom from the bondage of grading test papers, I found this article on the Economist.com:
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13382566&fsrc=nwl
Oh, boy, here we go again... Tim Geithner better have a compelling argument against this one! No more sleeping at the switch for you now, pretty boy! And no more strutting at the ball court for you, too, Mr. President (Obama, that is)! In case you haven’t noticed, sir, uh, the presidential campaign period is already over. Majority of us in the free world have already decided that you’re cute enough for an un-photoshopped photograph… and that yeah, you could make a great leader, too... well, a great leader, first and foremost, actually. Now, maybe it’s time to actually lead? Well, OK… let me be fair and say, great job on the Gitmo plan, American troops withdrawal from Iraq plan and the handling of the Afghanistan/Pakistan issue so far. But, I digress….
Back to the Economist article… just when the Obama economic team is finally seeing a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel, after that two-week of numbers in green and upward arrows in the stock market, China issued a challenge with arguments that make sense, especially for them – right now. And, like a flash of lightning, the red numbers are back!
As per the Economist article, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, Mr. Zhou Xiaochuan, suggested that rather than continuing to use the US dollar as the foreign reserve currency, perhaps, it would be more beneficial for the financial systems around the world if governments used a synthetic currency, such as that of the IMF's special drawing rights (SDR), which is based on the weighted average of the dollar, euro, yen and pound. To my mind, a plan like this would help shield other countries from Wall Street risky financial somersaults in the future (not that the Knights of Greed would still dare when the dollar power diminishes more than it already has), and to recover from today’s financial crisis in a way that would be somewhat independent from the US’ own recovery strategy. It might just be a good idea, especially for China... or, mostly for China? (dammit, this is one of those days when I wish I minored in Economics!).
But what would such scenario do to market globalization? Wouldn’t this lessen the motivation among countries to sustain activities in the global market and focus instead on local market? For instance, isn’t it that the reason why China’s economy reached its present status – big enough to challenge and influence the Washington D.C. financial architects’ thinking – is because of the US opening up of its market to Chinese manufactured goods over the past two decades, which strengthened China’s manufacturing industry, even when local consumption is low? In the process, the US was also able to penetrate the Chinese soil to take advantage of cheap labor through partnerships with state-owned businesses? Back in those days, the dollar being the dominant currency as well as the reserve currency was beneficial to both countries – it brought stability to China’s economy and boosted that of the US. Although Washington D.C. could not claim a direct influence on Chinese political landscape (but hey, is there any government that can?), which remains to be an enigma to the whole world until now, it did enjoy considerable regard on financial-driven decisions in Beijing over the past two decades because of such bilateral business arrangements that contributed to an active global market. Many political analysts viewed this as maybe the “softening” of Beijing on an American handshake. Now, I wonder what those political analysts are thinking now! Are we seeing a shift of tide here? Is that good or bad? (No, I’m not asking for a Wall Street opinion here, thank you very much!!!) And just how does the Chinese’ “sovereign fund”, which I presume is in dollars, figure in all this? Just how large is it really that Beijing feels compelled to push for the end of dollar dominance in response to the US’ financial recovery strategy of “printing loads of money” that might hurt the dollar’s value? Just what, or how much, is at stake for China here? Sorry for asking, I’m just being my curious, academic self, that’s all.
So, are we really seeing the last days of dollar dominance? Just imagine how those Sarah Palinish Americans who still think that Asians lived on treetops would react to this! Haha… OK, I’m being silly, sorry. Going back… although Mr. Zhou Xiaochuan raised valid points (in favor of China, of course), to me, the more compelling argument is still this: “Mr. Zhou’s plan could win support from other emerging economies with large reserves. However, it is unlikely to get off the ground in the near future. It would take years for the SDR to be widely accepted as a means of exchange and a store of value. The total amount of SDRs outstanding is equivalent to only $32 billion, or less than 2% of China’s foreign-exchange reserves, compared with $11 trillion of American Treasury bonds.” On second thought… we mustn’t forget, we’re talking about an enigma here.
Wait, did I forget to include Taj Mahal in my must-see list this summer? Whatever, I’ll go to Palawan! Yah!
.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The One dream fulfilled... in the name of love
Celebrating with the whole world the historic dawning of a new day through an unnecessarily elaborate analysis of a favorite karaoke song - priceless! :-) ======================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
I read one person’s blog just now. She is wondering about how she’s not in the “Obama train” like the multitude of ecstatic people all around the world jumping in to join Barack Obama in the journey of his life. She likened her I-don’t-get-it Obama experience with how she also didn’t get all the hype about Eagles’ “Hotel California” in the 70’s. I can’t help but smile about the blog… just because I love Hotel California (and no, I’m not that old either) – aside from “Build me up buttercup” (OK, I'll say it again I'm not that old, haha...), it’s my all-time song of choice in those frenzied karaoke parties, and I’m an Obama convert, too, since that moving Pennsylvania speech! No, I’m not an American, but I did find that speech moving anyhow. I guess that's just how the Obama appeal works.
Anyway, I was going to post the response below on the blog page I just saw, but I decided to post it here instead. Here goes…
Hotel California? Aawww...
Oh, boy… how could anybody miss that quietly blazing guitar that sings so much better than either Glenn Frey or Don Henley - the two awesome front men of Eagles, especially towards the end of the song??? The tempo is just great, too… it goes from creeping slow to jogging slow to fast notes – it’s like riding a roller coaster of emotions. The adrenalin spikes.jpg)
here and there as the tempo builds up was amazing since it doesn’t come with the deafening sound of drums and cymbals being punished with a pair of wooden sticks by some possessed drummer. In spite the fancy guitar chords plucking, the tone of the song is just so “doable” that anybody (including myself!) can actually sing it without too much effort! (Uh, a-hem, a-hem, do, re, mi...) And, by the time you finished navigating the last lyric stanza (OK, don't even get me started with the symbolisms in the lyrics), you are rewarded with that guitar jam to bang your head to just to celebrate your supposed vocal prowess… and that’s just heaven! Hotel California is not just a song – it’s an experience, and a totally awesome one at that!
Come to think of it, that is just exactly what the “Obama mania” is like to me. You look at his flimsy no-noisy-drum-beats but nevertheless impressive academic and public service record, and you see a promise whose fulfillment is “doable”. He speaks, and he just captivates you, inspires you, and makes you want to be better than the good person that you already are – and it feels “doable”, just because you see him as the very embodiment of success from hard work and a big dream fulfilled. His person makes you want to look beyond “just colors” and humble beginnings, and focus on possibilities and fulfilling them instead. There is a refreshing quality in his youth and cool confidence, intellect, optimism, and tenacity to do well… especially after eight years of GWB. After seeing how he was able to mobilize so many people of various backgrounds, ages and religious beliefs to bring his campaign from anonymity to victory, proving to everyone that, yes, great things can be achieved when people set aside differences and work together towards the attainment of a common goal, you know that this is the guy you want to bet your bottom dollar on in these troubled times.
So, yeah… Obama?? Awwww! :)
I do love “Hotel California”, but right now, I’m listening to U2’s “In the Name of Love” as I await the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America – yeah, That One!
(photo: Philipina, second from left, pushing her lungs in a Christmas videoke party with UST Chem. E. karaokees singing... yeah, "Hotel California"! credit: G. Chao)
.
by Philipina A. Marcelo
I read one person’s blog just now. She is wondering about how she’s not in the “Obama train” like the multitude of ecstatic people all around the world jumping in to join Barack Obama in the journey of his life. She likened her I-don’t-get-it Obama experience with how she also didn’t get all the hype about Eagles’ “Hotel California” in the 70’s. I can’t help but smile about the blog… just because I love Hotel California (and no, I’m not that old either) – aside from “Build me up buttercup” (OK, I'll say it again I'm not that old, haha...), it’s my all-time song of choice in those frenzied karaoke parties, and I’m an Obama convert, too, since that moving Pennsylvania speech! No, I’m not an American, but I did find that speech moving anyhow. I guess that's just how the Obama appeal works.
Anyway, I was going to post the response below on the blog page I just saw, but I decided to post it here instead. Here goes…
Hotel California? Aawww...
Oh, boy… how could anybody miss that quietly blazing guitar that sings so much better than either Glenn Frey or Don Henley - the two awesome front men of Eagles, especially towards the end of the song??? The tempo is just great, too… it goes from creeping slow to jogging slow to fast notes – it’s like riding a roller coaster of emotions. The adrenalin spikes
.jpg)
here and there as the tempo builds up was amazing since it doesn’t come with the deafening sound of drums and cymbals being punished with a pair of wooden sticks by some possessed drummer. In spite the fancy guitar chords plucking, the tone of the song is just so “doable” that anybody (including myself!) can actually sing it without too much effort! (Uh, a-hem, a-hem, do, re, mi...) And, by the time you finished navigating the last lyric stanza (OK, don't even get me started with the symbolisms in the lyrics), you are rewarded with that guitar jam to bang your head to just to celebrate your supposed vocal prowess… and that’s just heaven! Hotel California is not just a song – it’s an experience, and a totally awesome one at that!Come to think of it, that is just exactly what the “Obama mania” is like to me. You look at his flimsy no-noisy-drum-beats but nevertheless impressive academic and public service record, and you see a promise whose fulfillment is “doable”. He speaks, and he just captivates you, inspires you, and makes you want to be better than the good person that you already are – and it feels “doable”, just because you see him as the very embodiment of success from hard work and a big dream fulfilled. His person makes you want to look beyond “just colors” and humble beginnings, and focus on possibilities and fulfilling them instead. There is a refreshing quality in his youth and cool confidence, intellect, optimism, and tenacity to do well… especially after eight years of GWB. After seeing how he was able to mobilize so many people of various backgrounds, ages and religious beliefs to bring his campaign from anonymity to victory, proving to everyone that, yes, great things can be achieved when people set aside differences and work together towards the attainment of a common goal, you know that this is the guy you want to bet your bottom dollar on in these troubled times.
So, yeah… Obama?? Awwww! :)
I do love “Hotel California”, but right now, I’m listening to U2’s “In the Name of Love” as I await the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America – yeah, That One!
(photo: Philipina, second from left, pushing her lungs in a Christmas videoke party with UST Chem. E. karaokees singing... yeah, "Hotel California"! credit: G. Chao)
.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Bubbly Reality
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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Now that an economic bubble burst in the West, it’s not hard to imagine how the vulnerable economies of the developing countries in the East can be blown away to pieces as a consequence. Right now, we don’t see that happening as yet, following the violent burst of the housing bubble in the US that sent unprecedented volume of worms all over Wall Street crawling out to expose themselves in daylight, at the disgust of everyone except those greedy financial crooks with shredded moral fiber that coughed them out in the first place. It seems that the reduced strength of their gut juices, fermented from excessive supply of greed-raked wealth, is no longer a viable environment for the worms to thrive. But all these talks about what I consider as the US adopting a ‘self-preservation’ strategy to address the financial crisis that brought down the world financial fortress is scaring the hell out of me. Take this article for example:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/opinion/22krugman.html?em
I have always been an admirer of Prof. Krugman, and so, it becomes more distressful for me to read an article by the Nobel Laureate bearing a sunny prospective for the US, but of gloomy note for the developing countries, including mine. Although I agree to most points made by Prof. Krugman, including that about the necessity of US closing the gap in their trade deficit by becoming more self-reliant, thereby, creating much needed job opportunities and stimulating local productivity, I fear about what that would do to countries of weaker economies that are, in one way or another, tied to the US through globalized economy. Add to that the utter inability of allegedly corrupt governments, such as that of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s in the Philippines, to respond to the pressing need of creating local jobs, and it becomes even gloomier.
Right now, there are many Filipino college graduates who work in Call Centers, through services outsourced by American companies, whose college preparations are much advanced than what a Call Center usual job requires, but they take the job anyway out of necessity - to survive. Still, a sizeable Filipino work force is employed in companies that export commodities to the US and to Europe. When services outsourcing are stopped and importation lessened by the US, I wonder how the multitude of Call Centers and export company workers would take the blow. In the case of the Philippines, I wonder how much effort is being exerted in cushioning the blow for the common Filipino, especially those living below poverty line. I wonder if it is just wishful thinking to imagine Gloria Arroyo’s government working out a long-term and sustainable solution to the awful ripples of this category 5 financial crisis that is about to hit the Philippines, rather than figuring out how much more public fund is left for them to fish into their pockets and how are they going to do it with the remaining time they have in the government!
In the manufacturing front, I wonder what will become of the present manufacture output of China. If the US cuts on its importation of Chinese goods, where would China peddle the low-cost commodities it produces in order to sustain its own economic growth? I fear that Chinese goods find their way to China’s neighboring developing countries with weaker and less competitive manufacturing arm. In fact, they are already starting to dominate the Philippine market these days! The last time I shopped for a pair of flip-flops in the second biggest mall in the Philippines, it was impossible to find Philippine-made ones! Instead, I saw more than a dozen variants of flip-flops, all bearing the "Made in China" tag. The store manager advised me that if I really wanted a pair of Philippine-made flip-flops, I could probably find them in the sidewalks by the marketplace! Now, that's not even ironic - that's outrageous! He explained that it’s not a question of quality or lack of creativity in Filipino products that's making it doubly hard for them to find their way into these big malls, it's all about cheap. It's cheaper for big stores to import in bulk from China than to buy in smaller volumes from Philippine manufacturers. And if these stores are to keep their thousands of employees in the payroll, the choice is clear - cheap! He summed the problem as the inability of Filipino manufacturers to respond to growing demands for manufactured goods. And because the Chinese manufacturing arm is built to provide the then voluminous demands of the West, it would be hard for countries of weaker manufacturing arms, like the Philippines, to compete when China decides to 'invade' their local stores with its cheap produce. Again, add to that the willingness of corrupt governments to sell their countries’ future to the highest bidder rather than improving the capabilities and competitiveness of local manufacturers, just to feed their maniacal need to feel the pleasure of excessive wealth in their pockets, and we have a potentially grim situation.
If only governments of developing countries, take the present global financial crisis as an opportunity to work out a long-term economic strategy that will build a more sustainable and resilient financial architecture, it would be a welcome ray of hope in the midst of this economic gloom that we are experiencing today. About a couple of months ago, when all the stock markets in the four corners of the planet were crashing left and right in an unprecedented speed and breadth, evoking panic everywhere, I remember seeing Prof. Jeffrey Sachs – another prominent and respected economist, graced an interview in a cable network news. He advised that Asian developing economies should figure out a way to strengthen themselves where they will not be fully dependent on the more developed Western economies so they can effectively shield themselves from a financial crisis in the West. After watching the Indonesian stock market freefalling all morning and closing on midday after a horrendous crash, I dismissed Prof. Sachs’ remarks that day as arrogant and insensitive, in spite of my admiration for him. But now that the dust has settled, and the world is looking at the financial catastrophe with shorter wave of panic, what he said made sense. I guess, it’s a part of a corrupt government’s ploy and irresponsible acts to bring some sense of false security to its people by tying its economy to a robust Western economy albeit engulfed in a menacing bubble, bailing itself out from the responsibility of building a strong local financial architecture. And when the bubble bursts and financial crisis errupts, it's very convenient to point to the West and just leave the citizens on their own to wallow in misery. And then, when nobody is looking, feed itself to the people’s coffer. The only difference with the Arroyo government is that it feeds its corrupt self with tax payers' money to gross obesity even when people are protesting, and dying of hunger and hard labor! Talk about worm-infested all-bubbly fermented gut!
Happy Christmas!
Friday, December 19, 2008
That Street called GREED...
==================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
I dare everyone who can distinguish between wrong and very, very wrong to read the article below without either shedding a tear of deep frustration or bringing his/her fist to a crash on the nearest solid surface out of, yes, deep frustration!
***
by Philipina A. Marcelo
I dare everyone who can distinguish between wrong and very, very wrong to read the article below without either shedding a tear of deep frustration or bringing his/her fist to a crash on the nearest solid surface out of, yes, deep frustration!
So, what would these people do with all that money? Sorry, I am just a teacher - my job description does not include the practice of greed. We actually do real work with real outcomes for whatever little money we earn in the Academe! Many of us reach the end of their professional journey without seeing or knowing what a million dollars look or feel like in their pockets. And yet, it's the likes of us, and those who have even less than what we have that bail out crooks, with fast mouths and even faster hands, who are suffocating from their own ballooned greediness soaring high in that forsaken Street called GREED where money is everybody's daily bread!
While the world endure the painful consequences of greed on Wall Street, in my mind, a question presses for an answer: now that the toxicity of Wall Street's bread proved catastrophic to the whole world, would it finally deflate that menace of greed balloon? I hope for a sane answer!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The One: BarackO
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In four days, the lone Superpower on the planet will vote for its new leader… and the world watches eagerly, awaits results anxiously while it desperately tries to defend its financial fortress from the global economic meltdown that’s closing in around it. I, myself, have been burning the worldwide web, looking for some comfort from news articles and political expert opinions on the 2008 US Election, keeping an eye for possible redemption from the financial crisis from heaps and heaps of reading materials about the two contenders, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain! Without a doubt, the financial crisis had been making a hole at the bottom of everybody’s purse at the moment, and presumably throughout a considerable period in the near and distant grim future. And so, the world holds its breath, as it once again, looks to the West and hopes for the best.
The considerable endorsement articles I’ve read rang some sort of bias on different levels, while some were coupled with indiscreet ideological partisanship; still others are peppered with insults emanating from frustration and dismay from the present economic state and international image of the United States of America. From among a sea of candidate endorsements, I found one that’s refreshingly unbiased, or at least, the least biased among so many:
http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=12511171
The article above is very well-thought of and very well-written. It points out both the weaknesses and strengths of the two candidates, side by side. It does not endorse Sen. Obama in a frenzied, politically charged fanatism nor does it lambast Sen. McCain unfairly and maliciously. Instead, it points out how Sen. Obama rose from an unknown, inexperienced presidential hopeful into the very embodiment of hope and change that America needs amidst this tumultuous time - organized leadership that overcame huge challenges from the start of his campaign, rigorous and disciplined pursuit of his goals and that of his followers, willingness to listen and learn from the most brilliant minds to the smallest member of the society to come up with a political platform that could work for everyone, calm and cool confidence in the face of aggressive adversaries, and the willingness to extend a hand of reconciliation to turn foes into allies (It was joy to watch him embrace the Clintons during his many rallies, which undoubtedly added to the pride of reconciled Democrats, electrifying them to charge for victory come Election Day.) - all of which are necessary quality of a leader as America, and the world, faces a challenge that it has never faced before.
Admittedly, I was an ardent supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries, and I proudly remain to be a Hillaryite, even after the Democrats decided that she was too consumed by her desire to be the next American President that she went on a spontaneous combustion towards the end of the primaries. I maintain that she has what it takes to be a great leader, too, just like Bill Clinton... only maybe better. But after the primaries, watching Sen. Obama's steady evolution into a leader that the world by and large can appreciate, I was won over. This is not to say, however, that Sen. McCain is a totally worthless candidate, because he is worthy, too... or was, as shown by his sterling records as a soldier and a maverick senator, that is, until partisan politics sucked the better of him in the course of the presidential campaign. The biggest and probably the worst self-destructing compromise he could ever do in his lifetime is choosing a nincompoop that is Sarah Palin for a running mate at a time when the American VP Office could mean flourish or perish for the global community! Some of these issues were detailed in the Economist endorsement, which I believe, is a worthwhile read for those who haven’t made up their minds and for those who have but could do a bit of reassessment of their decision before finally casting their votes.
Although, like the Economist, most of the global community, myself included, do not have a vote in the US Election, the far-reaching effects of the present global financial crisis that originated from Wall Street, and therefore, must be abated from Wall Street, show more than ever before that whether Americans like it or not, the rest of the global community has a stake in their Presidential Election! And, their decision is a key as to how the free world will proceed forward after getting a good beating from the financial crisis. It will be tough, but through wars and adversaries, America has shown its resilience many times before. And through the help of its allies, it has risen to become the lone Superpower in the free world. Unlike many, I do not have a big problem about that... because which developed country in this planet has as much tolerance and offers as vast an access to opportunities to as many peoples in the world as the United States does? It is still one of the few developed nations where citizens from less fortunate nations can labor without being looked down to inhumanely, or spitted on like a piece of crap on a daily basis, or persecuted unjustly for their faith or sexual orientation, or even beaten to death like an unworthy animal. There are subtle (and sometimes, not-so-subtle) shows of intolerance, that's for sure, especially during the Bush era, but foreigners may still take refuge from American policies of co-existence. Sure, they usually put their own interests in the forefront, but who doesn't? Indeed, America does have good things that could be worthwhile for the world to learn. Therefore, Americans should be able to figure this one out, too. There is only one difference between their past and their present circumstances – now, they stand as a part of a whole, which is the global community. It is the inability to grasp this new reality for the United States of America that makes ultra-conservative, inward-looking, global know-how-deprived, and intellectually-challenged like Sarah Palin absolutely inadequate to become the nation's Number Two! But, alas, Sarah Palin, thankfully, does not represent Americans of today, not even the majority of Republicans. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/us/politics/31poll.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)
The shocking occurrence of 9/11 and how the Americans of this generation came together to stand for their country against the barbaric act of terrorism, I believe, is a defining moment for the United States of America – as a Nation. The 2008 Presidential Election is proving to be yet another defining moment for the United States of America – this time, not just as a nation, but also and more importantly, as a vital part (or leader, if the Americans still want it) of a free global community, whose very existence today is the result of democracy that the United States of America itself had ardently spoused for the last so many decades. While it is true that the free market that it created proved to be an imperfect one, the repercussions of its excesses and unwarranted deregulation, everyone in the world is enduring today, it did introduce a new way by which members of the global community may interact and grow as one. Leaders of nations that are key players in the global economic architecture of today coming together to confront the challenges of the present financial crisis is an indication that the world is ready to grow as one community. Sadly, it takes a financial catastrophe to make this happen. But, no matter, at least now, we see ourselves as one community. And now, this community looks to America in this crucial moment, when its sustainable existence is in peril.
As an individual who looks up to America as a generous provider of a lasting gift that is an excellent Academic training, and as a frequent visitor who revere America for its embrace as it reveals eagerly how absolutely exciting it can be to be in that melting pot where everyone is accepted as an important ingredient of a blend, I am forever grateful. I would like to believe that the Bush doctrine with all its short-sightedness and lack of intellectual ingredients in its policies, both local and foreign, is just a temporary glitch in the American psyche. As I enjoy America's gift of topnotch education and spreading America's message of hope in my own country, I continue to pray that this tradition of hope remains alive in the American soil for others to enjoy in many generations to come. And this, I reckon, depends on how America votes in four days’ time.
Therefore, I say, “vote wisely, America!”
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