We ARE the world

I find myself to be strangely moved by this video.

It's the remake of "We are the World," composed 25 years ago as an effort by artists all across the Western Hemisphere in response to the devastating famine that had Africa in a vise-like grip. The song, written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, eventually sold more than 20 million units and helped raise $63,000,000 for famine relief efforts in Africa.

Now, 25 years later, after the most devastating humanitarian crisis the world has ever faced with the earthquake in Haiti, artists across the world (mostly in the Western Hemisphere) and across musical genres came together to record a new version. The goal? To raise awareness and action for the plight of Haiti. Here are some fast facts (courtesy of Foxnews):

• It was the strongest earthquake felt since 1770.
• 3 MILLION PEOPLE required emergency aid immediately after the earthquake. To give you some perspective, Quezon City's population is about 2.8 million people. So imagine the entire population of Quezon City seriously injured without access to medical care, water, and food.
• The forecast is that 10% of the affected people would die of either direct earthquake damage or related effects. That's 300,000 people. 

Now the big question is: should we - you and I and everyone in our immediate surroundings - be even concerned by something that a) happened so far away, b) we have no control of, c) can't do anything about, and d) is of a lower priority than the personal and professional problems that we deal with on a daily basis?

The answer to that is yes. We should be concerned. I think the biggest misconception about ANY tragedy that's so huge is that it takes the BIG people to solve it and that it takes BIG acts to fix it.

I don't believe that to be the case. Sure, I personally can't send enough money to Haiti to make a significant difference to the country. Hell, I probably can't send enough money to make a difference in the lives of a couple of people. But maybe the little amount that I donated can help ease the suffering of just one person. ONE person. One is always greater than Zero.

So I guess my personal plea to the few readers that I have in this blog is this: let's care about Haiti and do what we can given what we have. Pass the message to other folks to care about Haiti. Say a prayer or two for the people who have been affected by the quake and a thanksgiving prayer to the people who are directly involved in rescue operations. If you can, make a small donation - there are numerous ways to do so. If you can't donate, then try to write a small message of support to any organization involved with rescue efforts. Or blog about it so we can continue to drive awareness about the issue.

Will this make any difference to the situation in the Philippines, or to our own personal problems and issues? Maybe not now, and maybe not directly. But I firmly believe that the universe will find a way and conspire to return the thought to you. 

So say a little prayer for Haiti on top of all the other matters that you pray for. They'll really appreciate it. :)

Priceless!

I couldn't stop laughing over this one! Mwehehehehe! Happy weekend everyone!

The Massacre and Politics

It's 12:38am and I'm supposed to be working on a business review, but I got the sudden urge to blog and given my current track record on posting, I decided to go for it while I felt the urge. This is mostly on current events, and this is definitely on the "thinking out loud" POV as opposed to a detailed structured analysis (which I'll be doing in a bit anyway for my business review).

The Maguindanao Massacre - did the Ampatuans really do it?

First of all, let me get one thing out of the way: this massacre is utterly deplorable and the assholes who did it deserve to get sliced into little pieces over a period of 24 months till they finally expire. Anyone who comes up to me and tells me the line "they have rights too!" will get a withering stare from me and a scathing question in the form of "so what about the rights of those who were massacred?" Beings like these do not deserve to exist.

Now, the entire world seems to be convinced that the Ampatuans did it. I....have my doubts. In my head they're the biggest suspects, and my reasons for that are:

1. MOTIVE - killing off the Mangudadatus + their supporters would definitely end any kind of political opposition to their continued dynasty in the area.

2. CAPABILITY - of course the Ampatuans have the capability to execute the damned massacre PLUS they have the capability to cover it up locally.

However, a few things bug me:

1. The motive was way too obvious so naturally the first suspects would be the Ampatuans. It's easy to frame them because if you kill off their opponents, naturally the first suspect would be them.

2. I don't think that the Ampatuans are stupid enough to do the following:

   a. Bury the bodies in a mass shallow grave - putting all your eggs in one basket eh?

   b. Use a government issued backhoe...and leave it on the site. Brilliant.

   c. Bury an huge cache of military-grade arms around your mansion (uh huh) or behind the municipal hall of a town where one of your relatives is a mayor. I mean, seriously. The OCEAN is a few kilometers away, and it's so easy for someone to take all these firearms and dump them in the ocean (assuming that they were used in the massacre and needed to be disposed off) OR place them in some quiet unassuming house somewhere OR bury them in a DISTANT place.

3. With Gloria declaring martial law in Maguindanao and charging the Ampatuans with rebellion - why the need for this? If it was really the Ampatuans, then there's no need to charge them with extra matters that won't hasten or increase the punishment. Does Gloria need them to be a mere scapegoat, and since she knows that the murder charges won't hold, she has to hit them with something else?

   a. Of course, there's a counter argument to this - Gloria KNOWS that they did it BUT since she needs them politically, she comes up with a charge that's not as heavy as murder OR something that distracts the public from the murder charges.

My reasons for doubting the guilt as enumerated above are based on the simple premise that the Ampatuans are not, executionally speaking, stupid. I mean, sure, we all know that criminal forensics in this country is pathetically close to zero, but still, the government could get lucky. The crime and the succeeding cover-up was done very sloppily. I mean, I despise the Ampatuans...but are they THAT sloppy?

I don't know. If I were on the jury (assuming we used the jury system), I'd be convinced BUT not completely - the government has not yet convinced me with evidence "beyond reasonable doubt." I need to know more before I can sign their death warrants.

The very nature of this massacre has elevated this incident from a mere criminal case to a political case. Yes, as disgusting as it may be (and I most certainly am disgusted), this is no longer "just" a case of 57 men and women who were killed in cold blood. EVERYTHING has been put on trial here: the government's capability to SOLVE crime, CHARGE the right people, CONVICT them, and JAIL them; the government's political will to go after warlords with private armies; the country's tolerance for the LACK of sustainable action on the government's part to stop violence against journalists; the Executive Branch's power to declare martial law; and freedom in Maguindanao itself.

Adding the fact that the 2010 Presidential elections are fast approaching, and you have something that barely resembles a criminal case anymore. I sincerely pity the men and women of the NBI and the PNP who are working tirelessly to build the case while trying to ignore all the pressure brought about by the politics of the event. It must be tough.

Will this ever get completely resolved? Maybe. I don't have high hopes...but I have my hopes. Will the TRUE guilty parties be punished for this? Maybe so. Will the Ampatuans get punished for this? Definitely. Are the Ampatuans guilty of doing this crime? Most likely...but right now I'm not 100% convinced. 

That's what politics does - it muddles up everything.