uray nu kasdiay, see u in class this pm, kabsat.

Thanks for taking time to comment. You might not believe it, but i think we’re practically on the same side on the issue of whether the road of communism is really the way to utopia. Although it seems like i haven’t made my position clear in this post, i think your vitriolic outpouring against me is uncalled for and should instead be addressed to the webmasters of philippinerevolution.net

I respect your frankness though, and your response should cause me no offense in the final analysis for after all, you might not know me personally as to be able to understand fully where i am speaking from. Allow me then to briefly introduce myself to you.

Ideologically, I don’t consider myself a communist. I teach at the University of the Philippines Baguio, and I do have communist friends but I don’t think these facts necessarily make me a communist. I consider myself a Christian, and, although I have recently bidden goodbye to a sectarian cause and am not currently an active member of any institutional church, i still believe that Christianity can still be a powerful force in personal transformation and social reform were it stripped of the metal plates riveted to it by the powers-that-be entrenched in the various ecclesiastical high places (I suggest you read my articles under the category “Religion: My Commentaries”). As a Christian, I find it impossible to reconcile most of the basic tenets of communism to those of my faith.

However, that I disagree with many of the methods and programs and even question the feasibility of the teleological vision of a true-blue Maoist-Leninist-Marxist-etc. should not mean that i can’t engage in dialogues with communists and learn from them in the process. My being at the other side of the ideological fence doesn’t excuse me from not attempting to understand the historical or socio-cultural background/millieu the communist is speaking from. Being in an academic environment and having had to witness sectarianism in politics and religion for over two decades now, I have learned to try looking at competing “metanarratives” dispassionately as best as I can and figuring out what philosophy (and i use this term in a general sense) informs a particular discourse, and what it is that makes me accept or reject it.

Balweg was a man of his times. I may not approve of everything that he believed in or applaud everything that he did, but I don’t have to condemn everything that he ever said or did or thought, either. I just have to continue studying about him to see what I can learn from his life.

“Sentimentally admire him”? In some ways, yes — based on at least some points in his life, like when he fought against the intrusion of the Cellophil into indigenous lands. I always admire people who fight for the preservation of our indigenous heritage, or the rights of the underprivileged and the voiceless. One reason I “sentimentally admire” my father — a distant relative of Ka Ambo — despite his failings as a man, is that he fought for the preservation of our cultural integrity which included helping codify the provisions (pagta) of our indigenous peace pact system (bodong), and lobbying to secure a forest cover in Balbalan, Kalinga which later became as the “Balbalan-Balbalasang National Park” (BBNP). Parenthetically, one reason I adore Jesus is his being a champion of the masses, a revolutionary of some sorts in ancient, Sadducee/Pharisee/Herodian-dominated Palestine. At the risk of being flamboyant, let me just say that for all you know, were we to get acquainted with each other, I sure could find some qualities in you that I may be able to “sentimentally admire” in my graying years. I subscribe to the philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said, “Every man [sic] is my superior in some way — in that, I learn of him.”

You mentioned Mao. I think I have quite an idea why today, many Chinese folks would say “Mao was 70% right, and 30% wrong” — something unthinkable (more accurately, unpronounceable) in Mao’s time. Having earned a degree in Political Science and having taught ESL in China for half a year (within which time I had striven to deeply immerse myself into the Chinese culture), I think I have a little idea as to why communism failed to keep its promise of creating a paradise on earth. But then again, I don’t have to be a devotee of Mao before I can learn from his life and works. In relation to this, you might want to read my article, “Antonio Miclat’s ‘Antonio and His China Wall’” which you can find under the Critical Essays category.

Amani!

Peter Quinn

First time doing my own blog. Hope you can visit. Need your comment and suggestion on how I can make it better.

http://jhunma2000.wordpress.com/

jhun

Dear Sir,

As is the standard method for making a claim on any large prize, please send me the affadavit in writing via certified mail. I will then fill out and sign the paperwork in front of a Notary Public in order to verify my identity and claim my fabulous prize! I am so extremely excited! My family has been experiencing severe financial hardships and I just can’t contain my excitement at the possibility of providing good, healthy meals to my children every single night! I can now buy them new shoes, clothes, and maybe even a car so that we can get to the grocery store without asking for a ride! Oh, my! This is a life changing event and I can’t thank you enough!

I will await the claim affadavit in the mail. My address is : 935 Pennsylvania Avenue. Washington, D.C. 20535.
[Note that this address is for the FBI]

Here is “Mr. Moore’s” response:

CLAIMS DELIVERY PROCEDURE

Dear Michelle Roseola, [Not my real name]

I Mr. David Moore, your Claim facilitator officer, had been directed to release your payment cheque to you as soon as possible, immediately I receive your email.

This is to formerly inform you that after the verification process conducted on your duly completed Prize Verification Form, I wish to inform you that the Administrative department has just approved and referred your claim file to our affiliate company, TNT Courier Services, so that your Prize Winning Certificate and Cheques can be sent to you by postal mail but you shall bear the cost of courier delivery of your cheque and Prize Winning Certificate
These Draws are commemorative and as such special. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our Africa booklet representative in West Africa as indicated in your play coupon, In view of this, your US$ 500. 000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) cheque would be released to you in our West Africa Payment Office,

Our Delivery Officer in our West Africa Payment Office would be delivering your cheque to you through TNT Courier to your respective city or locations in your country. He would need;
• Phone number
• Postal address.

Mailing &n bsp;………………..$130
Insurance…………………………$65
Vat …………………………………$50
TOTAL……………………………. $245

• TNT Courier Delivery Fee of $245 Dollars.

Send the delivery fees through Western Union Money Transfer or MONEYGRAM International Money Transfer, to my secretary via this E-mail address. Find below the details of the receiver:

Name: DICKSON SAMUEL
ADDRESS: 223, Dutse way, Wuse Zone 1,
Jos,Nigeria
TEST QUESTION: White
ANSWER: Red.

You are to send the following payment informations to my office Via E-mail:
1) Name and Address of sender
2) Amount sent
3) Money transfer control number (MTCN)
4) Location were money was sent from.
5) TEST QUESTION AND ANSWER:

This will enable us facilitate the release of your winning certificate and the cheque.

We congratulate you as one of the Microsoft award International Online Sweepstakes Lottery Winner.

N.B: Your winning Award Certificate would be sent with your Cheque. Hence, without the winning certificate presented at your local bank, you won’t be able to claim the money and it might causes a lot of delay as this is a crossed cheque. You can receive the money in any country in the world.

Thanks for your cooperation. Note, it is not possible for me to deduct the TNT DELIVERY fee from your winning cheque because it has been issued and sent to me by the general overseer Mrs. Susan Lars, in conjunction with the A.B.N AMRO Bank financial. In this case, you are required to pay this fee to get your winning cheque as soon as possible.

Please note that on no condition or circumstance must you reveal your winning ticket number to any one for this organization shall not by in anyway be held responsible for double claiming/missappropriation of funds. You have to keep your winning information secret until you are done.

Thanks.
Yours faithfully,
David Moore,
MICROSOFT.

Here is my response to this:

Dear Mr. Moore,

Thank you for your timely response to my message. In conferring with my legal counsel, it has been brought to my attention that requiring the recipient of a prize to pay for the mailing of the REQUIRED affadavit is both illegal and heinous. My lawyer has initiated contact with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding this matter and is simultaneously proceeding to file legal suit against your organization, which clearly is NOT Microsoft as you so ridiculously claim. In addition, my lawyer is also sending correspondence to the Microsoft corporation headquarters to inform them of the fraudulent use of their company name.

I am saddened at your ploy and feel great despair as I have lost all hope of providing for my family without the funds that you promised me under false pretenses. You will be hearing from the U.S. authorities shortly and will additionally be receiving correspondence from my lawyer in the very near future.

Regretfully,
Michelle Roseola [Not my real name, nor the name on my email account--he doesn't seem to care]

I will update if “Mr. Moore” decides to respond! Hee hee!

anyways, sa aking palagay, kailangan din naman ng talino sa mga ganyang mga timpalak. yun nga lang, ang sinasabi natin, hindi ata makatarungan na sukatin natin ang katalinuhan ng isang tao base lamang sa kaniyang wasto o hindi wasto na paggamit ng wikang ingles. kung filipino ang ginamit sa pagtatanong, at kung filipino rin and ginamit ni janina sa pagsagot sa tanong, sa tingin ko naging maayos naman sana ang tinurang Q&A portion.

isa pa, sana hindi makaligtaan ng iba ang katotohanan na ang katalinuhan ay hindi naman limitado lamang sa linguistic o verbal. alam natin na me 7 pang uri ng intelligence — logical/mathematical, spatial/visual, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalistic, intrapersonal, at interpersonal. kaya sa ganang akin lang, mali ata ang sinasabi ng ilan na “bobo” si janina sa kadahilanang hindi “intelligible” ang naging sagot niya sa tanong… sa tingin ko kung “bodily-kinesthetic intelligence” ang batayan, malayong mas matalino si janina kaysa sa mga ilang mag-aaral ng UP, Ateneo, La Salle, o SLU… peace!