Wikileaks blackout; Phl stuns Singapore; Exhibit on the Spanish Civil War FROM A DISTANCE By Carmen N. Pedrosa (The Philippine Star) Updated December 05, 2010 12:00 AM
If you are wondering why you can’t access wikileaks.org or cablegate.org the news is out that both have been removed. It just shows that those in power will not allow any impertinence from those without power who might have ideas about subverting the accepted system that government can also function with secrecy. Pressure was put on amazon.com to shut the page.
Before anyone gets excited whether we will ever know what the exchanges were from Manila and Washington were about, especially the events leading to the May election, I don’t think we shall unless a special team does extra work. Interestingly, in the world map showing which sites the leaks came from, the Philippines was not even dotted. We are so insignificant that more than a thousand cables just do not make us important.
But as it was published in wikileaks.org “the websites can still be accessed via their IP addresses – http://88.80.13.160/ and http://204.236.131.131/, respectively - according to a Wikileaks list of IP address mirrors
If you are using a Mac, Safari won’t be able to open the page cablegate.wikileaks.org. It will just say that Safari can’t find the server cablegate.wikileaks.org
The “wikileaks” leaks of thousands of embassy cables around the world were not only about American embassies or geopolitics. There were others, including the questionable workings of a bank.
One report said that “unlike the Pentagon Papers which dealt with a single issue, WikiLeaks was an “untraceable mass document leaking.” This is something new to conventional media. Both the Guardian and New York Times have championed it. Instead of singling a particular case it was about what goes on in the whole world today through the prism of “secret exchanges”, not necessarily connected with each other.
The report adds that “they are database leaks suggesting a different kind of whistleblower at work: someone whose goal is not to reveal a single act of abuse (and who may not even be entirely familiar with all of the material being turned over), but rather to open up the inner workings of a closed and complex system, to call the world in to help judge its morality.”
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It may not have merited a front page headline but the story “Philippines stuns Singapore in football” was reported on ABS-CBN as sports story. In a blow by blow report it said “Filipino-British Chris Greatwich struck for the equalizer in injury time as the Philippines rallied to a stunning 1-all draw against fancied Singapore Lions for a rousing start in the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam Thursday night.
“The keenly-contested match left the Singaporeans reeling in surprise.”
The Lions, 3-time winners of the AFF men’s championship, drew first blood through naturalized Serbian striker Alexsandar Duric’s header in the 64th minute.
But the Filipino booters, unlike in previous outings, refused to fold and kept up the pressure until they were amply rewarded with the tying marker despite Singapore’s early dominance.
“Now they can see that we are no longer pushovers,” said elated team manager Dan Palami. “Before the game, people here were talking about how many goals they (Singapore) would score against us. Now everybody is taking notice.”
This event is momentous not only in sports. Orion Dumdum, a warrior for constitutional reform should be elated. His first shot was an article on AP, Philippine Progress: Shift in Sports, Shift in System as the way forward for the Philippines. He makes the connection between our failure in basketball and the presidential system.
“It’s a real shame because while Filipinos were glued to the NBA Finals at about the same time that the World Cup was just about starting, one unfortunate fact continues to be ignored by basketball-crazy Filipinos: We are never going to excel in sports that require height.
“Unlike most basketball-loving Filipinos, millions of average-height, barely middle-class, or even impoverished Africans and Latin Americans who play and practice soccer can actually dream of one day playing professionally for local or internationally-famous professional teams such as Manchester United (England), Juventus (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), or Galatasaray (Turkey) - to name a few - and live a life of fame and fortune.
“These are dreams that are feasible as long as whoever plays and practices the sport has the competence, talent, and commitment, because the game-dynamics of soccer simply does not require height. It needs to be said that soccer legend Diego Maradona of Argentina became a soccer superstar with his very Filipino height of 5ft 4.
“In stark contrast to the meritocratic nature of soccer that does not care much about being born with the genes for height, the fixation that Filipinos have for basketball creates so many shattered dreams,” writes Orion.
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As I was reading Helen Graham’s, “The Spanish Civil War” the Instituto Cervantes opened an exhibit, “Corresponsales en la guerra española”. The exhibit is a collection of wartime newspapers and photographs about the lives of journalists in Spain during the Civil War (1936-1939). The Spanish Civil war may have been a Spanish affair but it fired ideas that had the world excited about its implications.
“The war is viewed as the testing ground for the world war and the final confrontation reached by thousands of volunteers around the world to fight for their ideas. This was also the start of the rise of war photography and photojournalism in the 20th century media.
Some of the figures in journalism and literature in this exhibit include Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, John Dos Passos, Herbert Matthews, Indro Montanelli, and Mikhail Koltsov, among others.
“Corresponsales en la Guerra de España” features historical interviews, such as that of General Francisco Franco in early August 1936, or of Buenaventura Durruti shortly before his death. But above all, the exhibition is a tribute to the most outstanding representatives of what Hugh Thomas has called “the golden age of foreign correspondents.”
The exhibition opened at the Instituto Cervantes in New York in July 2006 and has since toured 25 cities worldwide.
I regret that I was not able to go to the opening of the exhibit to hear renowned Spanish novelist Ignacio Martínez de Pisón Cavero on the stories of the Spanish Civil War correspondent. I will certainly catch it before it closes.
sana next time, WORLD CUP NAMAN!!!!!
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Hooray for the Philippine Team! Recently, the Philippines also participated in the Homeless World Cup and as far as I know, we didn’t really suck. At least those guys have the right sports in mind. I hope more Filipinos fall in love with football. Who knows, one day the country will be a contender in the World Cup! Sana.
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Odin0 Reply:
December 7th, 2010 at 5:41 am
Well, not only did we “didn’t really suck”, We won the Host Cup http://www.streetsoccerphilippines.com/team-philippines-has-won-the-host-cup-beating-norway-4-3/
Which is one out of six awards in the Homeless World Cup.
In the Street Child World Cup, we won the Shield Trophy:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/03/23/10/rp-%E2%80%98miracle%E2%80%99-booters-cop-deloitte-street-wc-shield-trophy
To Outsiders, the AFF Suzuki Cup victory against the defending champion is a shocking upset. For me, it is a trend.
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EthanRei Reply:
December 7th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Then trend it is! Sana tuloy tuloy! Despite it being a “hybrid”-members team, like Ulong Pare said, it still represented the Philippines. Who knows, it’s the beginning of something really worthwhile.
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EthanRei Reply:
December 7th, 2010 at 10:02 am
The Wikileaks.org can be easily accessed thru its IP address: http:// 213.25.145.94 0r http:// 88.80.13.160/ . Mr. Assange, the founder is in hiding. Wanted for rape in Sweden. And on the run for his life, for possible “termination” from the “terminators. I tried sending emails to the internet website. To include the offshore (foreign) bank accounts of Filipino Politicians. Noynoy Aquino and the Hacienda Luisita Mafia, included. Wikileaks will soon release bank transactions that are secret in the United States. If Wikileaks will release this foreign banks transactions of Filipino Politicians. I assure you: it will stink to high heaven. You will not even stand the nauseating smell…People you see as Angels now, will be revealed as greedy Demos…
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Hyden Toro Reply:
December 6th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Correction: http// 213.25.145.94/. The last frontslash is the direction of the search engine. You must not miss putting it…the other IP address is correct…
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daaaang! imported hybrids won the game for local (pure) unggoys!… flips, mga gung gong na, ginagago pa ninyo…
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kusinero Reply:
December 7th, 2010 at 12:41 am
It’s a start, hopefully PH wins the gold, that way pinoys will shift their attention from basketball to football. I’m proud of what you call the “hybrids” are doing for their country. They deserve our support.
And what do you mean by “pure” pinoy? Everyone of us lowland pinoys are mongrels. A mix of Chinese, Arab, Spanish, Indian and Pinoy blood. If you think you are “pure” pinoy just because you don’t look mestizo, then you’re dreaming.
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ulong pare Reply:
December 7th, 2010 at 7:38 am
flip games are dominated by flip imported hybrids… just lookit the olympic squads, mostly from flipflams-wannabe ‘merkans who did not make the cut…. kaya, ‘bakwet sa flipland to represent left-behind flips… i’ll like to see home grown athletes… NOT… imported hybrids!… flips puro kayo HILO!
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The Lazzo Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 3:14 am
You’re just switching one askal for another. You want homegrown askal to even pay attention, sometimes you have to bring the solution in from elsewhere.
ulong pare Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 8:50 am
@da laz: as always, flips need an outsider to make themselves worthwhile… flips are fcuktory defects with cross-wired brain who need imported hybrids to make them feel good about themselves… the left-behind (local) flips, worthless as they are, are comfy with the arrangement… yehey… flips, puro kayo tunggaks!
Step by step improvements for the Philippine Football team, though I’d like it even more if the government supports them. It’s a good step that they’re improving on the sport.
Though they weren’t even significant in the radar of the common Filipinos, unless they gain international fame.
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One thing I don’t like about Carmen Pedrosa’s column in PhilStar is that the comment section is disabled.
Anyway, if I remember correctly, the New York Times (US), the Guardian (UK) and two other European media outfits already have access to the Cablegate leaks. They are processing the data and publish what they deem as important. Good luck if they feature the Manila cables. The leaks can be downloaded but only in encrypted form and the key is not yet released, unless something happens to Assange.
Honestly, there’s not much surprise on what has been leaked so far. It has been speculated before and so the leaks serve as confirmation. I wouldn’t be surprised if what is in the Manila leaks have already been mentioned in the media.
Very welcome news for Philippine football. Veitnamese butthurt was delicious.
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Just wondering, how come the same article of Mrs. Pedrosa published on the Philippine Star changed AP (Anti-Pinoy) into FB (I’m assuming that’s Facebook)? Did Sir Orion post his article on FB too?
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Our team just beat defending champs Vietnam 2-0 on their own turf. While I am elated at this news, the usual “Yan ang Pinoy, magaling! Da best talaga tayo! We excel at everything!” comments sobered me right up. There were reports that the Vietnamese coach had some complaints, and one commenter said: “Whine sucks!” Really, Pinoys. Must you ruin every bit of good news with your arrogance?
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Maki_Alam Reply:
December 7th, 2010 at 4:29 am
Correction: Vietnam coach. He’s not Vietnamese himself.
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@Hyden Toro another link to wikileaks: http://46.59.1.2/
@ the Football part: I hope they promote the sport well; I’m getting sick and tired of my country’s obsession w/ Basketball; Same thing w/ Cha-Cha; Our current political system is only favoring the rich and those w/ connections.
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A few months ago I wrote an article promoting the need for Pinoys to switch to football instead of basketball. The topic is still relevant today. Here’s the link:
Can sport unite Filipinos?
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bokyo Reply:
December 7th, 2010 at 4:58 am
very much relevant Ilda. I’m hoping that the country recognized soccer as a potential sport we can excel at, and not basketball. and hopefully the government is setting up an improved sports program so we could excel not just in soccer, but in any sports.
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The Lazzo Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 5:56 am
Maybe it’s because I’m a nerd with a jock-hating complex, but I just don’t like how sportsmen-and-women always seem to have such a sterling reputation unless they fall into a gambling or steroid scandal. They earn millions upon millions for punching someone in the face legally, or putting a ball into a net (hollow or guarded).
Us nerds are just left to be their ‘managers’ or the heads of the evil corporations that utilize sweatshops in third world countries to make the branded gear for the fans.
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The Cables and Secret Bank Informations are encrypted safely. They can be released anytime; even if, Mr. Assange is imprisoned and terminated…The Pandora Box is already open…no way of closing it anymore…stinks have escaped…
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I say, congratulations to the PH team!
Do I dare hope for a Philippine team that makes it to the FIFA 2014 Group Stage? Hopefully this time around we actually enter the tournament. And if the team actually does get qualified, the group we get put in won’t include any of the South American or European giants.
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I watched the live telecast of the game between Philippines and Vietnam. I was surprised with our gaol keeper Neil Etheridge. He played for Fulham in the Premier League and his game shows such experience paying off. He made great saves especially in the second half. He deflected a shot from within 15m, which is very close in football, and prevented what could have been a 1 – 1 stalemate.
Our defenders did well too. Vietnam controlled the possession but the defenders constantly threw the ball far the strike area. Jason De Jong really made it tough for the Vietnamese midfielders. I knew that De Jong has Dutch roots. I did lots of web searching to see if he’s related to the Dutch player Nigel De Jong, who kicked Spain’s Cesc Fabregas during the World Cup finals. It shows that the name De Jong is really tough.
We only had a few shots on goal compared to Vietnam but we were able to capitalize more. Greatwich’s Header even made it play of the day in ESPN, no kidding! I’m a follow of the English Premier, UEFA, and the Spanish La Liga. I’ve seen amazing goals and I can tell that that of Greatwich was amazing indeed.
Ian Araneta caught the call in front of the Vietnamese goal keeper arounf the 70 minute mark. He took a clean shot that went about 2 feet wide. It could have been 2 – 0 earlier. After 7 more minutes our forwards got Phil Younghusband a clean look. Phil could have immediate took the shot but he waited, faked, got a better look, and GOAL! Patience paid off! Woo hoo!
We have a good team. An excellent goal keepr, good defenders, good forwards…I think the area where we need to improve most is in our midfield. The more we control the possessions, the better chances we get. Our midfielders have to be patient and needs to have better control.
I can’t wait to see the game vs Myanmar tonight. I am very optimistic. It is a similar feeling I have when I opted for Spain in the World Cup. Even in the preliminaries I was already rooting for Spain because of my liking of Fernando Torres. He was injured during the World Cup but Spain is a power house. He came in at the last 15 minutes of the game as a substitute for David Villa. In the 116th minute, Torres fired a cross which was deflected but ended up on Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas slit the pass to Iniesta for the winner. Goal!
Tonight, win or lose, I will follow our national football team more closely. I hope they get the attention and exposure given to basketball players. I also hope that Filipinos will get to understand and enjoy football more.
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Maki_Alam Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 3:14 am
Spain won because they have a great team. And because Paul the Oracle Octopus said so.
R.I.P. Oracle Paul
Do you have the full schedule of our team’s games? When and what time do they play? What channel? Thanks!
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outoftheblue Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 3:27 am
Maki,
I watched the Vietnam Philippines game on Sunday 11 pm. I think it’s either ESPN or Star Sports. (Channel 31 or 32 Sky Cable) I’m not sure if they will show the game between Phil and Myanmar. So far the advertisements I saw are for the game between Singapore and Vietnam, which has a the same schedule with Phil and Myanmar. Tsk tsk…
I just check the ASEAN section of ESPN’s soccernet for the game schedules. Their schedule for the next round will rely on the outcome of tonight’s games. I really hope that we advance.
BTW, Paul the Octopus is dead. I hope it does not affect Spain’s winning ways. He he he…So far FC Barcelona has been excellent in the La Liga and in the UEFA cup. Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta are nominees for the Ballon D Or. I think Lionel Messi will win but I would like to have Xavi Fernandez get it.
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Maki_Alam Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 3:19 am
And replay schedules, too, if you have them. Thanks again!
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outoftheblue Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 3:36 am
Star Sports will air the AFF Cup 8:30 pm tonight. Kaso it is not specified whether they will Phil vs Myanmar or Vietnam vs SG. Tingin ko it will be SG vs Vietnam. There will be a replay of tonight’s game 5 am and 7 pm tomorrow
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outoftheblue Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 3:38 am
Oops…dapat pala chineck ko muna local channels
Studio 23 will air the Myanmar vs Phil game
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/12/08/10/philippine-football-teams-semis-bid-air-studio-23
Here we go! Woo hoo
Too bad I’ll be on the road then….hu hu hu….
Maki_Alam Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Thanks! I caught the second half of PH vs Myanmar this evening on Studio 23. Goalless draw. Nevertheless, we advance to the semis for the first time ever! Good luck to the Azkals!
bokyo Reply:
December 10th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Missed the quarter finals with PH vs Myanmar , hopefully I get a glimpse on PH’s semi-finals performance.
@outoftheblue great detail on the match.
Ms. Ilda,
I really hope that the switch from basketball to football can be made. I myself still play basketball but recently started learning football.
Siguro a good start is to have some of our local channels give football some air time. This is a long shot but it can be done. If the local stations would be vigilant to find Asian Sponsors such as Tiger Beer, Barclays, or Chang (who are major sponsors in the English Premier League) then football will have more exposure.
Our local governments put up public basketball courts. My sister told me that Hong Kong, in spite being small, has about 4 full sized public football fields. I hope our government does this too. Public football fields, in my opinion, are cheaper compared to basketball courts. You only need grass, markers, and goals. If we’re going to talk about football stadiums however, that’s a different story. Malaki laking budget yun. Football stadiums usually seats 20,000 – 100,000 people. The biggest stadium is the Rungrado May Day in North Korea which can seat 150,000. So far, our football fields here in the country are usually in the universities such as UP, UST, Ateneo, San Beda…very few. I’m just lucky that there’s a nearby school that has a football field where I can practice.
If we’ll talk about revenue, comparing football and basketball, football stadiums are larger and this is what makes it have more audience. The NBA 2010 Finals had an attendance of 18,997. The El Clasico on Nov 29 2010, the match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, had an attendance of 98255. If we can get football to become as popular as basketball, we’re looking at larger revenue from sports.
Others think of football as boring because the scores are very low. This is wrong. It takes tremendous effort and team work to get the ball pass the midfield. What makes goals beautiful is they are very unpredictable. It is very difficult to make and time a cross. This is the reason why each goal is celebrated gloriously.
I wish our team luck and success tonight. I hope they keep Myanmar at nil and land the ball in the net over and over.
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Wait, we play football here? (/dripping sarcasm)
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Maki_Alam Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 3:17 am
Yes, apparently we do. Who would’ve thought?
Basketball-crazy Pinoy: Football? What’s THAT?
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Birdigator Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 3:58 am
I dislike it when the regular Juan calls it soccer. And I dislike it even more when Football is associated with American Football(More like Handball. Or Sissy Rugby(Which is also closer to handball than football) because they have to cover themselves up with pads.); the players don’t even use their feet as the primary way of handling the ball!
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The Lazzo Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 5:52 am
Blame the English. They called it Soccer as an abbreviation for asSOCiation football. Apparently there’s rugby and Gaelic football as well. Would that have made it Gae-er?
Maki_Alam Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 10:13 am
Sissy rugby, lol!
Why do they even call it football in the first place? Most of the time they carry the ball around in their arms.
migs42 Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 10:00 am
Duuuuude! It’s called Handegg!
The Lazzo Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 6:00 am
I hate basketball. Mainly because I was the runt always picked last back in high school. Even now, I go to DLS-CSB and nobody really pays attention to the NCAA because:
1) We suck at basketball because all the money’s literally going across the street to our mother campus at Taft and
2) Even then, basketball is the only sport anyone really pays attention to the NCAA in the first place. “What? We won the overall collegiate championship? Oh, okay…”
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Maki_Alam Reply:
December 8th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Haha, sorry Lazzo. I went to the ‘mother campus at Taft’.
Yung apat na taon ko dun, yun yung apat na taon na champion ang Archers sa basketball. But in all that time, I never went to a single game. I prefer football.
I also hate when people say, “We’re the UAAP champs!” referring to a basketball win. Basketball isn’t the only UAAP sport, you know!
http://azkalbites.tumblr.com/post/2154578151/shame-on-you-philippine-football-federation-for
so much for the support on football.
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