Top 10 Things I want wikileaks to share (before it's really shut down)

This could be a really longer list, but I'm going to narrow it down to what I feel the guys at wikileaks can share electronically. I grew up reading my dad's Time/Newsweek and my mom's Star magazine/The National Enquirer (nope, I am not talking about the newspaper folks; my mom used to read a lot of Hollywood gossip - the unusual factoids these tabloids provide are what intrigued me, like "Bigfoot seen in Las Vegas" or some s#*t like that), so there is a lot of unexplained stuff out there.

So before I give out my top ten things that I want wikileaks to shed light on, I have a couple of honorable mentions ala Bill Simmons:
• Elvis Presley: alive or dead? (is there some document from the US Marshall's office that put him in the witness protection program? And is he really racist like what Chuck D said?)
• Michael Jordan's first retirement - is there a letter from David Stern that "suspended" him from the NBA because of his gambling issues?


Without further adieu, here's my top ten (get it right, Assange!):


10. The Facebook movie – I just had to mention this, but can’t Assange share the diary of the girl who never added Zuckerberg on Facebook or the details of the settlement he paid the twins (did he really rip off from them?)? I don’t know why I am interested to know if he’s really an A-hole, but he’s our generation’s Bill Gates so I think we’re all entitled to that.


9. Kobe Bryant’s settlement– I’m not sure if it’s documented already, but how much was the settlement and did he really violate the girl from Colorado? Actually, I just want to see how she looks like, if it was worth my leaving the Laker fandom after Kobe mentioned Shaq’s infidelities to the police and ruined their working relationship etc etc etc. And even if Pau Gasol grows his hair and beard to look like uber-cool Bill Walton in the 70’s, I’m still not a fan of Kobe Bryant (and this doesn’t help).


8. GMA/Hello Garci - I would like to see the unedited script of her televised apology and who wrote it, complete with handwritten comments of what to omit etc. An election is just an approximation, I get it, but I would be lying as well if I say I fully believe that she won fair and square over Fernando Poe Jr. (I voted for neither of them, by the way). And I’m sure there’s more incriminating evidence. Too bad the proposed Truth Commission is deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Who appointed the Supreme Court Justices, you might ask? Hello? Hello?


7. Derivatives market bubble - there must be some study out there that should tell us more about this financial crisis that’s right around the corner. Like maybe a 4th Quarter 2010 memorandum from a certain bank to its employees saying "guys, start packing your bags", right? I'm almost positive guys here got one.


6. Gore / Bush in Florida - I remember seeing a televised celebration of Gore winning in 2000, and I also remember news networks retracting their announcements. And what followed was terrible. I enjoyed the Rage Against the Machine video on the election, but I have no doubt that the world would have been safer and better without Dubya as president (although without him, Will Ferrel would not have been nominated for a Tony). I would like to see the unopened votes opened and counted, and I don't care how Assange's team is going to post or assemble that data.


5. Vizconde Massacre – my memory is hazy, but if the people who have been incarcerated for the past fifteen years are guilty only because of the testimony of a star witness on drugs, then they really should have called Grissom first. That’s the Philippine justice system for you, folks! There must be some written order to dispose or transfer the evidence (but wasn’t there a fire or an explosion in the NBI office a few years ago? They can use that as an alibi… what the hell am I saying?!).


4. JFK’s death– I honestly believe that in today’s era of Flip cameras and Facebook, this investigation would have turned out differently. There must be more hidden info out there, perhaps hidden inside a pew of an abandoned church in the south…


3. The ending of Inception – seriously. Was DiCaprio dreaming the whole time? Nolan must have the complete story on a moleskin or something. If I come up with a list of movies that linger, this could be among the Top 5.



2. The Decision – I’m talking about stuff like the Sopranos video that James Dolan prepared for Lebron James or a photo of Delonte and Queen James. I mean, just anything to explain the logic of the televised “Decision”. Man, I do not know how killing a franchise saves the NBA (I feel bad for Cleveland, but in fairness Dan Gilbert had a chance to book Stoudemire with Lebron in 2009-2010...). And besides, between the Heat and the Knicks, shouldn’t the nod have been towards saving New York? After 9/11 and Isaiah Thomas, New York sorta needs a Lebron James-signing (sorry Amare, but I am just not feeling it when they play Empire State of Mind during your intro). If he had any hand in it, then David Stern needs a better financial advisor (I’ll make myself available!) before they enter into a lockout next year.


1. MOA on Ancestral Domain – I would love to read a trail of documents that started this sincere effort to recognize the Bangsamoro homeland and then the trail of emails/letters/what-have-you that made a mess out of it. I would like to see how it was supported and then abandoned. I’m still supporting it, if ever you are asking, and damn those who used the MOA-AD for their own agenda.

WORD COUNT: 970

Petrang Kabayo?

"Petrang Kabayo?"

That was the question asked by the girl at the ticket counter when my wife was buying tickets (there are only two theaters at Greenbelt 1). It really set the mood for her; she was cracking up while we were going in to see Bruce Willis' new film .



I had just got out of work and crossed the street to Greenbelt 1 to meet Michelle at National Bookstore when we bumped into our friend Jill at Via Mare. After a quick chat, I saw the movie poster from inside the restaurant and naturally geeked out. We checked on the kids and then booked a ticket for the evening's entertainment. And it was worth missing out on a home-cooked meal.

This movie about retired CIA agents is "loosely" based on the DC comic book. Well, for starters and spoiler alert, Willis' character in the movie is named Frank instead of Paul.

I have enjoyed a couple of movies this year, such as My Name is Khan, 3 Idiots, Inception, Despicable Me, Toy Story 3, and Hot Tub Time Machine. But this movie kinda takes the cake (so far). The pacing was great, and my wife really loved it in spite of not even seeing its trailer. And seriously, would you watch Inception again? I'd rather do a double take on this movie that has Helen Mirren shooting a machine gun.

The casting is superb, and it's nice to see Mary Louise Parker again although I can't remember when I last saw her perform. Ernest Borgnine is in it as well, and I pointed out to Michelle that he's the voice of Mermaid Man. But not to ruin the film for everyone, I just have to say that John Malkovich rocks in this movie. It's nice to see Cyrus the Virus in an action film again, and being John Malkovich, he does it in his unique way.

This is not a Bourne-type-simulated-action spy film. This movie is outrageous, over-the-top, cliched, and incredibly satisfying. It makes me think about retirement packages and golden parachutes in a totally different way.

Now if I can only still apply for the CIA...

WORD COUNT: 331

His Name is Khan

I'm not a big fan of reality tv shows, especially the Filipino versions. But now, one of my best friends since childhood is on one. And now I'm practically glued on Youtube.

Growing up with Genghis, I have always known him as "big". Always.

Big in personality. Big in laughs. Big in generosity. Big in appetite. Big in wisdom. Big in heart. Big in size. Big.

Being friends with him is like being buddies with Tom Hanks' character in "Big", except he never wished himself back to size.

My son was ecstatic when I showed Genghis' video on Youtube . My wife was equally surprised as I was (he "lied" and told us he was going to attend this year's comic con in San Diego). (Nice one, dude)

I can't wait to see him healthier and lighter, but I bet it would take a lot of getting used to. I have known him since I was 12 years old! I guess part of our job when he gets back is to make sure he keeps off those pounds he's lost (and will lose). In fact, seeing him struggle and persevere inspires me a lot to lose the pounds I gained over the vacation (which was about five years ago).

In spite of his size, he did have injuries back then so i know he can get through the strenuous physical activities. When he was in the US, he broke his leg or something while playing high school varsity football (with enough training, he probably could have been the next William Perry). The guy has tried to get healthier many a times already, and I cannot be more excited for him after seeing the results he's putting up on each show.

He may be on The Biggest Loser, but he is always a winner. You can catch Genghis Khan Enrique on The Biggest Loser Asia season 2 every Tuesday night at 9:00 PM on Diva Universal Channel.

Word Count: 325

A reaction to that pastor in Florida

“Every time I look at you
I don't understand
Why you let the things you did
Get so out of hand
You'd have managed better
If you'd had it planned
Now why'd you choose such a backward time
And such a strange land?
If you'd come today
You could have reached the whole nation
Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication”
-Judas Escariot to Jesus Christ, in the song “Superstar” from the Broadway musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”

This Broadway song is from a musical that was an artistic interpretation of the last few days of Jesus Christ. For some, the play was considered sacrilegious and even anti-Semitic. If it were released today, I am sure boycotting the musical would have been more popular because of the internet and we would unfortunately may even be deprived of the Lion King, the Phantom of the Opera, Cats, and other succeeding works of Tim Rice or Andrew Lloyd Webber.

We live in a time where you have people on television claiming they have a direct line to God. We live in a time when someone can go online and cause furor and controversy so much easier than it were decades earlier. We live in the age of mass communication.

A Florida pastor wanted to pay homage to the thousands who died tragically at the World Trade Center nine years ago by burning the Holy Quran which was thankfully called off . I’m of the belief that we should be moderate in our practice of our respective faiths partly because it only takes so much to push someone over the edge and inadvertently cause outrage. We have to be more responsible in this age of globalization, man.

If that Florida pastor pushed through with it, who knows how some people in the global Muslim community would have reacted (which I am almost sure would be generalized by some). There are just some things you shouldn’t mess around with – and other people’s faith is one of them. I wouldn’t even bat an eye if they burned Osama Bin Laden’s picture or hold a protest rally against the building of the masjid in Ground Zero, but what they tried to do is just too much. You cannot go out and say that another faith professes radicalism. Isn't the burning of the Holy Quran radical? Isn’t saying that God spoke to you radical or extreme?

Akbar Amhed, in his contribution to the Asian Wall Street Journal last September 1 said there are three types of Muslims, broadly stratified as the mystic, the modernist, and the literalist. I want to believe that I am a cross between a modernist and a literalist, as one who strives to coexist with people of other faiths. There are “literalists” out there who would disagree with “modernists” completely but I just cannot subscribe to violence to which some do and I believe that there is no compulsion in religion. We should be careful on how we human beings try to interpret religious scripture, and we should be careful on how far we stretch our devotion to our faith, regardless of denomination. We should respect other people's truths. And for any literalists out there, if someone does go far on the offensive, you don't have to go all Hetfield and fight fire with fire.

But do go Lennon on me on this one and imagine: Imagine if the revelation of the word of God happened today, in the age of the internet - in a time when anyone can be “Messiah” or "Pariah” almost instantly . How different the world may have been, and thank God things are the way they are. And thank God cooler heads prevailed.

To commemorate the 9/11 tragedy, I won’t burn anything. Even ESPN thinks some other things should instead be burned. In fact, I’ll try to read more about the tragedy. In this time of the internet, when Time even named me Person of the Year once, I am going to download a torrent for “Fahrenheit 9/11” and also try to look for videos about the tragedy on Youtube.

Because I want to seek the truth. Not burn it.


Word Count: 686

Who is Anthony Taberna?

After we completed our prayers for Eid ul Fitre at the Indonesian Embassy along Salcedo Street in Makati this morning, my mom read out an SMS from her sister saying that the Eid was discussed on Umagang Kay Ganda (the morning news show on ABS CBN). She stated that its anchor had made an announcement that prostitutes from Senegal are welcoming the end of Ramadan and that prostitution is legal in Islam. He accompanied his remarks with a laugh, even as his co-anchor Ms. Pinky Webb tried to say that it was not consistent in Islam.

The sound of his name alone ruins my day.

Why did ABS CBN even think of putting this person on a morning news show and call the show “A Good Morning”? This person has made it a habit of grilling guests on their show, or making controversial what is already controversial. When you watch him, he acts as if he is the most intelligent person around when in fact he could be the most ignorant. I never liked watching him, but now I have begun to hate him.

It is journalists like him that foster hate in this world. And for the record, prostitution is not legal in Islam.

It is journalists like him who enjoy the limelight of controversy and can create a hostage situation into a national embarrassment.

I am no perfect Muslim, but I am among the majority of the more than 1 billion Muslims who live in peace, love, and unity with other faiths. I am among those who wept for the people who died in 9/11 and it is sad that tomorrow a church in the USA will burn copies of the Holy Quran to commemorate the tragedy.

Today's Final Jeopardy answer: A Filipino TV journalist who is ignorant and makes the wrong perception of Islam even worse. (See my title)

Word Count: 315

Why Recruit From AIM?

That's one big bonus!

If you are on the board of the Metroplitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), you get Php 50,000 monthly, some Php20k to 30k for Representation and Transportation Allowance (RATA), an additional Php 14,000 for every board meeting attended (it's an incentive I guess to generate attendance), plus an annual grocery allowance of Php 80k and also Php1 Million when your term ends.

I read that from this article as well as from President Aquino's State of the Nation Address. If you want to read it word per word, then go here.

Looking at the figures above, it just makes me want to kick myself in the nads.
What do they meet about that merits Php14,000 per meeting? I wish I get even a fraction of that for every meeting I attend. Maybe someone opens their board meeting like this:

"Ah, Mester Cherman, I tink we should foot a blockage in the sewage sistem of makati, farticularly in da area of pasong tamo so dat we have samting to pix, you know."

But seriously, I think our water system can be better. And maybe these allowances can be diverted into something else (like actually fixing Pasong Tamo! 10 minutes of hard rain equals knee-level water and congested traffic hell!).

But in a country where you have to pass the Civil Service Commission Subprofessional exam to clean latrines of government offices or chauffeur government vehicles but you don't need to pass the same exam to become President, Senator, Congressman, Governor, Mayor, or a blogger- well, what the f**k do you expect?