Sunday, December 31, 2017
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
December 31, 2017 - Rooted in Love
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and JosephLuke 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: "Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Introductory Prayer: Jesus, you were a small child in your Mother’s arms. You were a baby who needed the protection of Joseph. You felt their goodness and love. Today I want to celebrate this love of your family. I want to enter into this love and bring it also to my own family. I believe and trust that you will help me in this.
Petition: Lord, help me discover the wonders of the love of the Holy Family.
1. The Bridegroom Is with You: Our God is a God of love. A family participates in this love because God is the source of the love that draws them together. The love that is so spontaneous, as well as so sacrificial, in a family shows the presence of Christ’s love. Jesus makes this love spring forth. It is homage to his Father and homage to his love for us. Am I aware of Christ’s loving presence in my family? Do I strive to collaborate with his love?
2. Family and Covenant: A family is fruit of a covenant, and God is part of this covenant. God has always wanted to make man part of his family, beginning with Adam and Eve. The Holy Family demonstrates the definitive covenant of God’s love for each of us. They live it with wonder and, like Abraham, they put their faith totally in God, bonding themselves totally to his will and to his love. They play their parts in the working of God’s plan, and God will keep his promise to them, making them providential collaborators in his plan of salvation. We can be sure of God’s faithful love in the family. We can be sure that he is working his plan of salvation with faithfulness. Do I strive for unity in my family by living supernatural charity?
3. Spiritual Inheritance: The Holy Family is a source of blessing. My family is also a source of blessing, even though moments of sorrow are bound to happen. When I live with faith my role in the family, I help to bring these blessings on the world. Often it is the example of Christian families that attracts others to the faith. Often the most powerful apostles, whether lay or consecrated persons, are fruit of the strong faith that is lived in the family. A family should not be closed in on itself; like the Holy Family, it has a mission. It must promote God’s message in the world through example and action. Do I give example to the members of my family? Do I strive to be an apostle both inside and outside the home?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, thank you for sanctifying family life by your presence. I want to discover you more in my family and those around me. Help me to accompany my loved ones in their moments of both joy and sorrow. You are with us, Lord. Help us to be your apostles.
Resolution: I will take a moment to listen attentively to and speak with a member of my family who may not have received much attention from me recently.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Liberation from the Liberal Party: Should Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg be named a Philippine hero?
Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook platform gave Filipinos what Noynoy’s Liberal Party administration failed to deliver: Freedom of Information.
Facebook broke the chains that held Filipinos captive for decades – bound to the deception and mass propaganda of the Liberal Party and their Yellowtard media machinery, which relentlessly spewed out toxic praises to the fake hero and sham saint who continue to beam through our yellow P500 bills with those “haha, nakauto na naman tayo” smirking faces.
If not for Facebook, Filipinos would still be wallowing in incompetent governance filled with the likes of Jun Abaya (MRT debacle), Mar Roxas (Yolanda mess) and Noynoy Aquino (SAF44 massacre and DAP/PDAF graft).
Mark my words, life and business are going to ZUCK big time like a Titanic-piercing iceberg for these Yellow media con artists. Filipino dependence on big media’s addictive dope will continue to wear out. Even as the battle over fake news rages, Filipinos are now increasingly adept at discerning and filtering out truth from the fake. They can now easily see through the hypocrisy of epal politicians who use public funds or photo-ops to shore up their popularity by filling our eyes and thoughts on every turn with their names and faces.
Gone are the days when Filipinos simply had no recourse but to watch and follow Kris Aquino’s (LP showbiz tentacle) every move and drama on the news simply because she was of Yellow royalty. Gone are the merry times of oligarchy- and Yellow-paid news editors filtering what people should be thinking and talking about. They can no longer set the trending topic or agenda, when the lowliest of Pinoys now have a platform to be as influential as them.
Filipinos should celebrate Zuckerberg’s wonderful gift to mankind, which opened the eyes of the country from the fake mind-conditioning machinery of Ressa’s Rappler which purports to be “God’s gift to Journalism”. Inquirer and ABS-CBN must be scrambling to pull out a rabbit from their obsolete hats, but unfortunately (yet fortunately!) their Yellow-partying days are numbered.
Nokia didn’t survive Steve Jobs, as much as brick-and-mortar DVD rental shops didn’t survive Hulu and Netflix. These days, platform makers rule! Uber, Amazon, AirBnB, and Twitter will continue to eat up market share from traditional players with no regard for salary cuts and layoffs on the other side of their fence.
Facebook opened the way for Filipinos to get the LP-anti-thesis Iron-Fisted Visionary (IFV) leader they truly wanted. The nation could at least express gratitude to Mark Zuckerberg by granting him the honor of being a Philippine hero.
If the Liberals complain about granting such an honor to a non-citizen, then let’s offer him Filipino dual citizenship status as well. What a great way of opening the door for him to invest more in the country without that 60/40 ownership rule restricting the FDI he could potentially pour in.
Okay, it’s about time to get back to swiping and running through your Facebook feeds again – the Philippine national pastime. As the year winds down to an end, let’s keep in mind what we learned from the LPs – to NEVER FORGET…
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December 30, 2017 - A Child and Wonder
The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
Luke 2:36-40
There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was 84. She never left the Temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come like Anna today to live the one thing necessary in my life: my relationship with you. I believe that you are faithful to your promises. I believe that you will triumph over sin and death. I love you, Lord.
Petition: Lord, help me to see how I can better witness to you.
1. She Worshipped: We all have something we worship. Wisdom teaches us whom we should truly worship: God alone. God deserves our full hearts, because he is the one who is our true Father. In worship we rediscover our greatest treasure, as did the Prodigal Son: “I will return to my Father’s house” (Luke 15:18). In worship we return to that place where we are most deeply welcomed and cared for, to that place where we discover our true friend, where we become more deeply our true selves. Worship also opens us to receive God’s graces. It helps us appreciate the gifts that God wants to give us. Do I strive to worship God with all my heart, mind and soul during the Eucharistic Celebration?
2. She Spoke about the Child to All: Prayer and worship here on earth do not end only in going to church. They allow us to discover the good news about God’s love, so that we can also share this good news with others. Prayer that does not lead us to evangelize is self-deception. Our Holy Father shows us this intimate connection between prayer and evangelization. He invites us to give to others what we have discovered in being close to Christ. He challenges us to bring others to Christ. Am I living this contemplative and active spirit?
3. The Child Grew and Became Strong, and the Favor of God Was Upon Him: Christmas is a message of hope. God is quietly preparing the future. A child and a young person are reminders that God does not give up on the world, that in each generation he can find new ways of bringing his salvation to all mankind. Am I youthful, spiritually speaking? Am I always trying to learn what God wants to teach me each day, striving to form those virtues that will make me a better instrument of God’s grace? As one who follows Christ, I should have confidence that God’s favor also rests on me; that he looks at my humble, often hidden efforts with great love; that in spite of my weakness he is helping others through me to see the good news that he is present and active in their lives.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I thank you for your presence and care. You have made me in your image, and in the presence of your Son I discover the depths of your love. Help me to grow in wonder at your love today, and help me to bring your good news to others.
Resolution: Today I will spend a quiet moment before the child Jesus and thank him for his presence here among us. I will also strive in a particular way to be cheerful and friendly to everyone I meet.
Friday, December 29, 2017
There’s no bad science and good faith in Dengvaxia scandal
BY ANTONIO P. CONTRERAS ON DECEMBER 28, 2017
BLAMING science and pleading good faith are easy excuses made by people who are now facing the specter of administrative and criminal prosecution in relation to the Dengvaxia controversy.
There is a need to clear the cobwebs brought about by people capitalizing on the scandal to engage in sensationalizing the issue and whipping irrational hysteria among people who are not as informed.
People who blame the Dengvaxia vaccine should stop for this is not helping at all. This includes people who make others believe that it is the vaccine that will make people ill with dengue.
People get sick not because of Dengvaxia, but because they are bitten by an insect vector that carries the dengue virus, and their resistance is not enough to fight the disease. Common sense dictates that while vaccines are in fact extracted from the actual virus, they are designed to trigger the body into producing the antibodies that would immunize the person from the virus.
A vaccine like Dengvaxia is just a tool, an instrument used by people. It is not a thinking and breathing organism that willfully inflicted itself on the unsuspecting people to which it was injected.
It is also totally wrong to claim that the vaccine is totally useless, and a clear and present danger to the population. The science behind modern- day medicine has yet to produce a totally foolproof drug or vaccine. Any rational scientist worthy of his or her mettle would know that all chemical drugs have limitations and adverse side effects, and it is these that need to be propounded. All you need to do is to examine the label of any drug, whether prescription or non-prescription, to tell you that ample warnings are provided in terms of side effects as well as contra-indications which specify when or to whom the drug should never be administered.
The science behind Dengvaxia clearly stipulated its limitations. The scientists involved in the production and vetting of the vaccine did not fall short in providing adequate words of caution. As early as 2015, there were already scientific publications stating the efficacy as well as the contraindications of the vaccine. There were already statements made at the time by medical scientists recommending that the vaccine should not be administered on a large scale, and that it is effective only for people that have already been exposed to the dengue virus, or are seropositive. There was already emphasis given on the fact that the vaccine was contraindicated for people who are seronegative, or have not been exposed to or infected by the dengue virus, even as it has relatively high efficaciousness on people who have already been infected.
Hence, the science behind the Dengvaxia vaccine already laid out the parameters for its use at the time—that it must be small-scale and limited only to people who are seropositive of the dengue virus.
Thus, to claim that the misadministration of the vaccine was an outcome of bad science is utterly ridiculous. It was not the scientific community that made the decision to make shortcuts and fast-track the vaccination program. The decision was made by bureaucrats who ignored science, and instead gave more credence to political considerations. It was also pushed by pharmaceutical capitalists who gave more importance to profit.
If there are scientists who were involved, these were people who compromised their scientific training.
Science has strict rubrics. While one can take issue with science—and there is a plethora of literature critical of the scientific ethic in being masculine, Western, alienating, and epistemologically totalitarian—there is agreement that these criticisms emanate precisely from the fact that science adheres to rigid, totalizing and singular standards. And the penalty for scientists who violate any of its tenets could be severe and could compromise their careers, from getting fired to not getting hired at all.
It is also because of this that scientists who allowed the Dengvaxia vaccine to be massively administered and ignored the scientific parameters associated with it cannot plead good faith as a defense. There could never be good faith in malpractice, more so if what was violated are the scientific basis for making a decision that is pregnant with risks. The only exception would probably be if there is a catastrophic situation where quick decisions needed to be made. Certainly, while dengue is a serious public health issue, it is not listed as one of the top causes of mortality in the country. Thus, there was no catastrophic dengue epidemic enough to ignore proper scientific protocols.
Presidents Aquino and Duterte have both alluded to good faith as an overarching consideration in decisions such as these. Politicians who have pushed for the vaccine may also be tempted to follow the same line of argument.
But as public officials, it is incumbent upon those who are voted to office, and those they appoint to help them govern, to exercise prudence in making decisions on matters that are imbued with scientific and technical considerations. Issues such as an anti-Dengue vaccine should be flagged as decision points that would give priority to scientific caution, and must be made with a close ear to what scientists say. On matters such as these, good faith redounds to being conscious of science. Aquino’s apparent cluelessness is a fatal admission that he was inept and unfit to make decisions of this nature. A more prudent and caring President would have taken the initiative to seek clearer and unassailable scientific warrants.
Politicians and bureaucrats should not be allowed to escape accountability on the basis of good faith when the issue entails scientific considerations. Sanofi may have pushed hard, but if our officials pushed back harder and said no, and listened to the warnings from the scientific community, the misuse of the Dengvaxia vaccine would never have put at risk the lives of the seronegative children injected with it.
http://www.manilatimes.net/theres-no-bad-science-good-faith-dengvaxia-scandal/370942/
Rappler CEO Maria Ressa spreads fake news that Duterte is “authoritarian” and Zuckerberg is “greedy”
There are people who show their ignorance without realising it. These people champion themselves as moral crusaders and behave like they are God’s gifts to humanity. They think they have the moral high-ground when it comes to how people should conduct themselves especially on social media. Take the case of social news network Rappler CEO Maria Ressa. She made a bold attempt to lecture technology billionaire and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on how to run his empire. According to Ressa, “Facebook needs to moderate its greed, clean up the toxic waste, and be accountable for its role as the new gatekeeper to information”.
I have my own advice to Zuckerberg on how to deal with people like Ressa. He can simply close her account along with all the pages associated with Rappler. It’s simple, really. Facebook is a company with its own rules and regulations. Since Ressa is not happy with how the social networking site is being run and is even falsely accusing Zuckerberg of colluding with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, then Zuckerberg has the right to remove her from its premises. For her part, Ressa can simply click the “deactivate” button if she cannot handle the “toxicity” level on Facebook anymore. No one is forcing her to keep her account and stay on Facebook. It’s a free service. Anyone can join it and anyone can leave at any time.
Ressa is showing her ignorance in telling a businessman like Zuckerberg to “moderate his greed”. At her age, Ressa seems too naïve to expect that Zuckerberg would actually risk losing one of the biggest community of users of his platform. 49 million Filipinos use Facebook. That is a lot of revenue considering most Filipinos spend a lot of time socialising on the site especially since a lot of Filipinos work overseas away from their families and friends.
Ressa’s statement was narrow-minded and judgemental. She was basically saying that Zuckerberg is greedy. As if she wouldn’t do what Zuckerberg is doing if she had been the first one to come up with a social networking site. Zuckerberg doesn’t force anyone to log onto Facebook in the first place. It’s not like he puts a gun on people’s heads to “like” stuff. A lot of people are drawn to Facebook because Zuckerberg and his team came up with a brilliant way to attract people. As far as I am concerned, that’s not a crime. At least not yet. Most people might have gotten addicted to the dopamine hit every time they get “likes” on their selfies and posts, but that’s just human nature at work.
As a matter of fact, Ressa could be bitter about not getting enough “likes” on her posts, which is is why she has resorted to blaming Facebook for her site’s diminishing engagements. Let’s face it, if it were the other way around, if she was the one getting all the positive feedback from millions of Netizens, she wouldn’t be complaining about Facebook. She was actually praising Facebook for being a platform for social change once upon a time, back when Rappler was still popular during former President BS Aquino’s term. But since receiving backlash from Netizens for her biased reporting, she has since been very harsh with Facebook and founder Zuckerberg. It’s like blaming the rain for her bad day.
Apparently, some members of foreign media – those who hold “liberal” views – are listening to Ressa’s noise. MSNBC – a news outlet in the US – is also blaming Facebook for the rise of so-called “authoritarians” like Duterte and US President Donald Trump. They dedicated a program to discussing how Zuckerberg is allowing “fake news” to spread for profit and has quoted Ressa’s “research” citing millions of fake accounts were created to help Duterte and Trump win.
Ressa is spreading the lie that Duterte only won because of bots and trolls spreading “fake news” that presented him in a positive light. If that were true, Duterte’s satisfaction rating would have gone down already. But Duterte still enjoys a high satisfaction rating after almost two years. He wouldn’t have been able to sustain that if he based his platform on lies. The people would have seen through it within a few months. This is something the likes of Ressa fail to analyse properly. She’s letting her emotions rule instead of applying a bit more rational thinking.
It seems Ressa is not familiar with the concept called the free market of ideas. Facebook just created a platform where people can share their ideas. It’s not up to Zuckerberg to control what people believe in. In a true democracy, people are free to choose whatever to “like” and “share”. If Ressa’s posts don’t get enough “likes” or “shares”, that’s not Zuckerberg’s fault. She simply needs to come up with smarter ways to get her message across. Perhaps it doesn’t help that since siding with the Liberal Party, she has lost credibility. She’s lost a lot of “followers” – those who don’t want to receive nonsense anymore.
Truth be told, Rappler went down together with the Liberal Party. It was their partisan politics that sent them down. As a journalist, Maria Ressa should have known not to show her bias in reporting the news. She couldn’t help but be nice to the Aquinos. She is still beholden to the name.
Ressa already calls people with contrarian views “bots” and “trolls”. She is the one peddling lies and exaggerations with inflated number of deaths attributed to “extra-judicial killings” and when she calls Duterte “authoritarian”. Maria Ressa should be made to answer for spreading false information to the international community, indeed.
A desperate Maria Ressa blames Facebook for Rappler’s inevitable demise
Maria Ressa, CEO of “social news site” Rappler has gone too far. Rather than own up to her failure to build a credible news media organisation that could compete in the free market of ideas, she, instead, takes it upon herself to appoint Facebook as “the new gatekeeper to information” and then proceed to accuse the social media giant for failing to “moderate its greed” and step up to that role.
MSNBC has become the latest Western media organisation to air Ressa’s monumental tantrum over how social media is conspiring against the “goodness” of Rappler and everything she stands for. It has backward-engineered a story from Ressa’s dubious premise and populated it with the usual cast of villains: armies of “bots” and paid “trolls” producing and propagating “fake news” commanded by an “authoritarian” leader. It is an all-too-familiar and overused plot of late — perhaps the only narrative in the dwindling ideological arsenal of the Philippine Opposition. But the same message delivered by a Western media outlet makes that message far more potent to Filipinos thanks to their renowned colonial mentality.
Ressa and her cohorts in MSNBC would like people to believe that Facebook heralded the dawn of mass hypnosis in aid of political agendas. They accuse Faceook of, of all things, “undermining democracy”. What they fail to note is that this has long been a practice by mainstream media long before Facebook was even a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye. Back in 1998, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew already cited the role media played in undermining democracy.
According to Lee, “a wieldy partisan press helped Filipino politicians to flood the market place of ideas with junk”. Apparently, the Philippine press before Martial Law enjoyed all the freedom but failed the Filipino people. Lee added that the Philippine press “confused and befuddled the Filipino people so they could not see what their vital interests were in a developing country. And because basic issues like economic growth and equitable distribution was seldom discussed and were not tackled, the democratic system malfunctioned.”
In short, Ressa and that MSNBC bozo in that video are wrong and Mark Zuckerberg is right. Facebook is just a platform upon which any kind of information — including “fake news” — is easily spread. Indeed, Facebook is democracy in its purest form because on Facebook, what is popular wins. Mainstream media, on the other hand, is not a platform in the same sense that Facebook is. Mainstream media content is produced and priortised by human editors. At their heyday, mainstream news media editors and publishers were amongst the most powerful men and women in the world because of this responsibility. Human editors then and now in mainstream media arbitrarily decided — on the basis of their personal judgement — what is and what isn’t news. In contrast, Facebook only uses a disinterested machine — its much misunderstood (and, thus, feared) newsfeed algorithm to vet what is relevant to its users.
In short, the human editors-in-chief of the New York Times and the Inquirer are directly accountable for what appears in their publications’ front pages. Zuckerberg, on the other hand, cannot be held directly accountable for what appears on our Facebook newsfeeds. It is we who are accountable for what appears on our Facebook newsfeeds — because what appears on our newsfeeds is based on what we “Like” and “Share”.
The short of it is that Facebook is not to blame for the spread of “fake news” because it is the producers of fake news and the users who spread it by thoughtlessly clicking on the “Like” and “Share” buttons who are really to blame for its spread.
The trouble with Liberals like Ressa and the mainstream media of the United States and that of the Philippines is that rather than blame the weak character of the average Facebook user for the spread of disinformation, they’d rather blame Facebook itself. That’s like blaming the hammer for the shoddy work of the carpenter who wields it.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte did not win because of social media “bots” and “trolls” spreading “fake news”. He continues to enjoy a high approval rating after almost two years in power, something that would have been impossible to achieve if he had been governing on a platform of lies. Filipinos should be given a bit more credit. They would have seen through a government of lies within months of its ascent to power.
We can also thank the Philippine Opposition itself for being focused on taking ineffectual low-level tactical potshots against Duterte’s government and, over that same period since the May 2016 elections, utterly failing to present a coherent alternative strategic path to Duterte’s. For a democracy to work, there needs to be a competent Opposition. Unfortunately, the Philippine Opposition has yet to purge its ranks of its Liberal Party infestation which continues to hobble it with its obsolete 1980s-vintage victim mentality and hero-worship ideology.
Maria Ressa needs to face the truth about her predicament and her failure to lead Rappler to success. Facebook did not cause Rappler to fail and did not cause Duterte to win. In a free market, users and eyeballs who are free to visit — and leave — websites determine which sites win and lose. And, in a democracy, voters determine who wins and loses. It’s really that simple. There are no conspiracies here. Only crybabies.
We are still waiting for @MariaRessa to “take back the Internet”
Recall the famous call of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa to “take back the Internet” (or something to that effect) more than a year ago. It was a call dripping in self-righteous pomposity which my colleague ChinoF wrote about…
One of the country’s prominent mainstream media personalities in this country posted, “Time to Take back the Internet. Time to take back social media.” Fancy words. “Take back” is often used in posts and calls to move people to action. Our very own Ilda has an article using it.However, I believe this use of “take back” by the mainstream media personality was misplaced. You cannot take back the Internet and social media. Because you cannot take back what you don’t own.Indeed, I believe the media personality’s perceived opponent for the “take back” post was citizen journalism. However, the new media cannot be “taken back” from citizen journalism because it’s one check and balance for a “fourth estate” that’s gone rogue.
It mirrors a disturbing attitude in the mainstream; an unwillingness to compete in what has become a Darwinian landscape where the battle for ideological dominance has become even more intense thanks to the Internet and social media. For the longest time, Ressa and her hench girls in Rappler gushed about the Net like it was the greatest invention since sliced bread. But rather than embrace its real utility as a means to gain access to a vast diversity of ideas, Ressa and her wider circle of “disente” cliques cocooned themselves in echo chambers and exchanged increasingly inbred ideas amongst themselves. They blocked people who they perceived to be opposed to their “decent” views on how society ought to be and followed and kept track of like-minded people who shared their views. The result of just a few years of this digital inbreeding is not surprising…
The Philippines’ so-called “civil society”, now a.k.a. the “disente” crowd have made themselves obsolete thanks to their habitual refusal to engage non-traditional media entities like Mocha Uson. They are paying for that arrogance today. To the chagrin of pompous “thought leaders” like Maria Ressa and Chay Hofilena, the Internet has been “taken” from them. The landscape of guerrilla bloggers, meme creators, Facebook “chuwariwaps” who are dismissed collectively as “trolls” by the traditional Establishment have taken over the Internet from right under the noses of the Old Guard.The “trolls” relish a fight. The latte-fattened “disente” crowd retreat from it. So it is no surprise who wins the war for Internet turf. There’s a history lesson in there somewhere — something about barbarians and gates and the collapse of a big Mediterranean empire.
As we can see from all the text above quoted from the dustiest recesses of our vast archive of old articles, we at Get Real Philippines had called this way way before Ressa and any other “social media expert” had the slightest idea that it was already happening. We have watched and waited patiently for a long time for Ressa and her generals to make good on her campaign to “take back the Internet”. Alas, after the last morsel of popcorn had been munched, all we are seeing today is a tired weather-beaten CEO of a fallen media unicorn throwing a monumental tantrum and blaming God himself (in this case, Mark Zuckerberg himself) for her epic failure as a media baron.
Facebook needs to moderate its greed, clean up the toxic waste, and be accountable for its role as the new gatekeeper to information.
Spoken by Maria Ressa, Rappler CEO. Spoken like a true loser.
December 29, 2017 - In the Spirit
The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas
Luke 2:22-35
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord," and to offer the sacrifice of "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons," in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: "Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I long to abide in your presence. You refresh my soul and fill me with your light, although I don’t turn to you often enough or exercise enough faith when I do remember you. But here I am now, Lord, ready to spend a few precious moments with you in the room of my heart. I want to pick up more readily on the inspirations of your Spirit. I want to be a docile instrument in your hands to serve you and your Church.
Petition: Lord, teach me to be open to your Spirit.
1. Simeon, a Man of the Spirit: Luke tells us three times in this short passage that Simeon was a man who was attentive to the Holy Spirit. The “Holy Spirit was upon him” since “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.” Simeon was in conversation with the Spirit and learned to listen to his holy inspirations. Just as in Christ’s life we see him many times moved by the Spirit—for example, to come to be baptized by John and subsequently to be “driven by the Spirit” into the desert—so in Simeon’s life, he is not only inspired, but also powerfully moved by the Spirit. We should take a moment in our meditation to admire this man who lent himself totally to the movements of the Spirit.
2. Mary, Overshadowed by the Spirit: There is no one who demonstrates docility to the Spirit more than Mary Immaculate. She didn’t put up any obstacles to the work of the Holy Spirit; as the Spirit expresses to us through the Gospel writer, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). As John Paul II describes it, Mary “responded with faithful obedience to every request of God, to every motion of the Holy Spirit.” As she stands here at the presentation of her firstborn son, she now hears words spoken to her through the Spirit’s instrument: “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Once more, Mary acquiesces to the Holy Spirit and accepts the foretold suffering far in advance.
3. Amazed by the Spirit: All of us have heard incredible stories of moments in which the Holy Spirit clearly intervened or directed a situation. Maybe we have experienced this in our own lives. Is there any reason why we shouldn’t? Are there any obstacles that the Holy Spirit would find in our lives? He should be the soul’s gentle guest. But how do we foster this friendship with the Holy Spirit? We have to bring silence into our hearts so as to distinguish his voice from the noise of so many worldly voices trying to drown out his word, and it also means we have to be docile and obedient once we have heard it.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, there are so many lessons to be learned from your presentation in the Temple. I have taken one of them: the presence of your Holy Spirit so evident in this Gospel passage. In the Christmas season we celebrate your being among us as a tiny child. Yet, your whole life will show us how to be docile to the Holy Spirit. You have sent him so that we might not be alone. May he always accompany me in life, and may he always remind me of the many things you did and said, as you lead me to the Father’s house.
Resolution: I will spend the day attentive to the Holy Spirit and make this a particular point for my examination of conscience.
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