| Wednesday, April 26, 2006 |
| AMERICA'S 10 BEST SENATORS AND THE FIVE WORST |
BEST: ARLEN SPECTER
The Contrarian
Republican/Pennsylvania
Full Stream:
Cancer doesn't slow Specter: nor has Bush, Bill Frist or the Democrats.
BEST: JOHN MCCAIN
The Mainstreamer
Republican/Arizona
His Owan Way:
McCain's latest cause, gerrymandering, is not a big crwod pleaser.
WORST: CONRAD BURNS
The Shock Jock
Republican
WORST: WAYNE ALLARD
The Invisible Man
Republican/Colorado
Best: DICK DURBIN
The Debater
Democrat/Illinois
Lawyer Durbin argued down opponents of aid for illegal immigration.
Best: RICHARD LUGAR
The Wise Man
Republican/Indiana
Lugar once saw a diplomatic standoff as a chance to nap.
BEST: CARL LEVIN
The Bird-Dogger
Democrat/Michigan
Eyes on YOu:
From the hearings bench, Levin grills Enron and military brass.
BEST: JON KYL
The Operator
Republican/Arizona
Shadow Play:
Kyl's hidden hand was behind severl successful G.O.P. moves.
WORST: DANIEL AKAKA
Master of the Minor
Democrat/Hawaii
BEST: TED KENNEDY
The Dealmaker
Democrat/Massachusetts
Long View: Kennedy's cross-aisle work has riled Democrats and Republicans.
WORST: MARK DAYTON
The Blunderer
Democrat/Minnesota
BEST: OLYMPIA J. SNOWE
The Provider
Republican/Maine
Hands On: Snowe returns to Maine each week and often strolls its Main streets.
BEST: KENT CONRAD
The Statistician
Democrat/North Dakota
Frugal Life: Conrad spends little on trips and balances his checkbook everyday.
BEST: THAD COCHRAN
The Persuader
Republican/Mississippi
Soft Touch: Cohran held up the '06 spending bill to gurantee Katrina aid
WORST:JIM BUNNING
The Underperformer
Republican/Kentucky
(Source: TIMEMAG/by Massimo Calabresi and Perry Bacon,Jr.) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 11:39 AM |
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| PAUL McCARTNEY OF THE BEATLES |
From Yesterday to Today (The McCartney Years)
1940s
Born June 18 in Liverpool, England.
1956
Mother, Mary McCartney, dies of breast cancer.
Elvis Prestley makes first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1960
Formation of the Beatles.
1963
John F. Kennedy assasinated.
1964
Beatles single "I Want to Hold Your Hands" hits No. 1 on U.S. charts.
Beatles appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
A Hard Days Night
Begins dating actress Jane Asher
1966
Beatles last concert, Candlestick Park
1967
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
The Summer of Love
1968
Visits India to study with the Maharishi
1969
Marries photographer Linda Eastman; first child, Mary is born
"Paul is dead" rumors
Man lands on the moon
The Let It Be roof top performance
1970
Announces Beatle's breakup
Releases first solo Album, McCartney
1971
Forms Wings Rock Band
1974
Richard Nixon resigns as president
1980s
John Lennon is murdered
Paul is busted for pot in Japan
1984
Outbid by Michael Jackson for the Northern Music catalog
1990s
1991
Performs Liverpool Oratorioat the Carnegie Hall
"Linda McCartney" vegetarian-foods line launched
1997
Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
Daughter Stella named head designer at Chloe
1998
Linda McCartney dies of breast cancer
1999
Paul inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist
Exhibits his artwork for the first time
2000s
2001
Publishes book of poetry, Blackbird Singing
Debut's song "Freedom" at Concert for New York
Gerge Harrison dies
2002
Paul marries model and activist Heather Mills
2003
Fifth child, Beatrice Milly, is born
2005
Publishes children's picture book, High Over Clouds
Releases Chaos and Creation in the Backyard his 39th post Beatles album
A HARD DAYS QUIZ (Test Your Paul IQ)
1. Paul McCartney does not own the rights to which of the following songs?
a). I Love Lucy theme
b). "LOve Me Do"
c). "THe Christmas Song" ("Chestnut Roasting....")
d). "Get Back"
2. What is Paul's Nickname?
a). El Guapo
b). Big P
c). Macca
d). The Walrus
3. The original title of "Testerday" was
a). "Scrambled Eggs"
b). "Far Away"
c). "Come and Gone"
d). "Something Dumb"
4. Paul's first musical instrument was a
a). Guitar
b). Violin
c). Piano
d). Trumpet
5. Which of his songs does Paul most frequently list as his favorite?
a). "Hey Jude"
b). "Here,There and Everywhere"
c). Yesterday"
d). "Let it Be"
6. A young Paul failed his audition to join which of the following?
a). Liverphool Cathedral Choir
b). Gin Mill Skiffle Group
c). Rory Storm and the Hurricanes
d). Royal Academy of Music
7. After getting his first serious girlfriend pregnant in 1962, Paul
a). Offered tomarry her
b). Neglected her as he threw himself more fully into his work with the Beatles.
c). Broke up with her when she miscarried
d). All of the above
8. Which of the following pseudonyms has Paul not used?
a). Paul Ramon
b). Apollo C. Vermouth
c). Dr. Winston O'Boogie
d). Bernard Webb
9. Having originally hoped to play lead guitar for the Beatles, Paul realized his wish on which of the following songs?
a). "Sexy Sadle"
b). "Taxman"
c). "You Can't Do That"
d). "Let It Be"
10.Paul wrote the title music for which of the following movies?
a). Vanilla Sky
b). Spies Like Us
c). Live and Let Die
d). All of the above
Answers:
1. (d) Through his company MPL, Communications, Paul has pruchased several notable song catalogues that contain show tunes and other classics. With the exception of a few songs, such as "LOve Me Do" and "PS, I Love You", the Lennon McCartney catalog is owned by Michael Jackson.
2. (c)
3. (a)original first line "Srambled eggs, oh, my bay, how I love your legs".
4. (d)
5. (b)
6. (a)
7. (d) The woman in question, Dot Rhone, eventually moved to Canada, married and lived happily ever after.
8. (c) Dr. Winston O'Boogie was one of John Lennon's pseudonyms.
9. (b) a surprise since "Taxman" is by the Beatles lead guitarist, George Harrison
10 (d)
(Source:AARPMAG by: Allan Kozinn) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 1:18 AM |
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| Wednesday, April 19, 2006 |
| OPUS DEI AND ME..... |
There is a big raucus about the upcoming movie entitled "DA VINCI CODE", written by Dan Brown. I am sure back home in the Philippines there's plenty of people so nervous about this and of course the Philippine Board of Censor.
One thing I cannot understand is why make a big deal about this movie. It is a novel, writeen by a man who wanted to see his ideas, book and make money out of it.
When the movie "PASSION" was about to hit the big screeen, there was a lot of hype about this movie. People are saying this is Anti-Semitic and the only thing people did not say was Mel Gibson is a herectic. He is a devout Catholic and one has to understand, this was a movie depicting a historical and religious figure. One Jewish Rabbi was saying on TV, that the more people make lots of noise about this movie, the more Mel Gibson is going to make money -- which he did. I did not see anything anti-semitic about it. In fact the female actress who starred in the role of Virgin Mary is a Jewish.
So -- about this DA VINCI CODE, people are saying that this is an attack on the Catholic church and the one particular organization of the church which is the OPUS DEI (Workers of God). I have read the book, and I like it. After reading the said book, I read also Dan Brown's previous book ANGELS AND DEMONS. It was also a nice book, well researched.
OPUS DEI and a lot of my country men back home in the Philippines are all on the side of cautions about this movie. First time I have seen OPUS DEI on the defense-- is that the right word?
When I was about to enter the seminary for the priesthood back home, ages ago, I was an acolyte at the Saint Anthony de Padua church, under the Capuchin Faters in the fourth district of Manila, called Singalong (SING-GAH-LONG). IN 1964, this is also the first centere established to house the MAYNILAD STUDY CENTER of the OPUS DEI. This was catering for the college students in the area. Then it has become wide spread now, totalling to 40 centers in Metro Manila, Laguna Province, Batangas Province Cebu, Iloilo and Bacolod.
There are retreats anc courses on Philosophy and theology organized regulary at the Makiling Conference Center in Calamba,Laguna Province.
My dad's younger brother was converted by the IGLESIA ni CRISTO founde in Manila, Philippines by Erano Manalo. It is not a part of protestant church, but a religion of its own and with its own personality. My Uncle has five sons, when he joined this religious sect. Then he got sick of tuberculosis and died at the foot of their church. Sad to say, nobody helped him, except his young son of 10 years old who was with him at that time.
When he died, his wife cannot take the death of my Uncle and had a nervouse breakdown to the point of behaviouring differently until she has to be committed to a psychiatric ward. The five boys was sent to the home province of my Uncle's wife, as instructed by their father before he died. They were not treated properly by their maternal relatives so all of the five boys was taken back and was distributed to the different members of my father's sisters.
One particualar boy was a very intellectual and grew up very quiet and always on his own. He was sent to a Catholic school by my Aunt who is now his gurdian and then graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Chemical Engineering. His name is G..... He was the fourth son of my Uncle and near the U.P. Campus was a center for OPUS DEI. He found his calling and joined OPUS DEI. He was a NUMERARY, a committed member of the group who have taken the vows of celibacy, lives inside the center and practices corporal punishment. He was then an Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines, College of CHemical Engineering.
Four four years, he followed the rules and live inside the center as a pious and obedient NUMERARY. The I stepped out of the seminary, while this cousin of mine continued on to his chosen spiritual path in life.
After four years with the OPUS DEI , he decided he wants to become a priest. And so he did. He was sent to Spain to study the four year Philosophy requirements and then was sent to Rome to finish his Theological studies. On the last three years of the Pontificate of the late saintly Pope John Paul II, my cousin was ordained as a priest in Rome. It was attended by my sister and her husband and my cousins. I was not able to attend, because of health problem.
My cousin is now a priest of the OPUS DEI and now back home in the Philippines serving his vocation and the OPUS DEI. The first he thing told me, when I saw him back home in the Philippines, is that he has to learn how to drive a car, and then cater to the children of the elite at the school where he was assigned. He is also staying and having his domicile at the OPUS DEI center in Manila fourth District.
Last March of this year, my younger brother died, and my cousin Fr. G... was the one who did the funeral mass. After the mass, we talked for some time and I asked him if he is also using the DISCIPLINE, and he said yes. He told me he uses it once a week during prayers. This is a cordlike whip, used to flagellate themselves. I tried it, I was not hot about it. It will take a man's conviction and faith to use it. I don't like pain associated with prayers.
We talked about DA VINCI CODE, and I told him that I am a member of the Freemason and his Kuya R...is a member of the TEMPLARS which was also mentioned in the book of Dan Brown's DA VINCI CODE He just smiled and told me he knows about it and he does not mind. He said the book is not a distortion of his faith and his love for OPUS DEI -- he told me the book has strengthen more his love for his religion and the group where he belongs.
As for me --- what is OPUS DEI and the DA VINCI CODE meant to me? The first one is to sell into the hearts of men and the other one is to sell and make money.
PAX IN AETERNUM so OPUS DEI said, when greeting one another. |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 11:04 PM |
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| Tuesday, April 18, 2006 |
| THE OPUS DEI CODE |
The Da Vinci Code's Opus Dei- a powerful, ultraconservative Roman Catholic faction riddled with sadomasochistic ritual, one of whom members commits serial murder in pursuit of a church-threatening secret -- is obviously not reflective of the real-life organization (although author Dan Brown's website states the portrayal was "based on numerous books written about Opus Dei as well as on my own personal interviews").
In its 78 years, Opus Dei has been rumor magnet. Successful and secretive, it has been accused of using lavish riches and carefully cultivated clout to do everything from propping up Francisco Franco's Spanish dictatorship to pushing through its founder's premature sainthood to planting conservative minions in governments from Warsaw to Washington. Brown's treatment of the group has seemed to represent an unstoppable high sewage mark -- that is, until the movie trailer appeared. Says Juan Manuel Mora, director of Opus Dei's communications department in Rome:
"Reading a print version is one thing. Seeing the color images is another".
Yet Mora and his colleagues have inaugurated a countertrend, in part by breaking their organization's historical silence. They spoke at length on record to John Allen, a respected print and television Vatican commentator, and offered him unprecedented access to Opus Dei records and personnel. IN November he responded with Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church (Doubleday), probably the most informed and symphathetic treatment of the group ever penned by an outsider.
HOW DID IT START?
On Oct. 2,1928, a 26-year old Spanish priest named Josemaria Escriva was visited by a new vision of Catholic spirituality: a movement of pious laypeople who would by prayerful contemplation and the dedication of their labor to Christ, extend their everyday work life. Escriva's title for the movement was a literal description -- Opus Dei means "the work of God" -- and his ambition was correspondingly large. He saw Opus eventually acting as "an intravenous injection (of holiness) in the bloodstream of society".
It was controversial almost from birth, Opus threatened the era's Catholic clericalism, which priviledged priests, monks and nuns over the laity, and Escriva was called a heretic. In the 1950s, several prominent Opud Dei members joined Franco's dictatorial but church supportive regime in Spain, inaugurating specualtion about the group's political leanings. The church's second Vatican Council (1962-65) seemed to catch up with Escriva's idea of lay activism - but his rigid adherence to Catholic teaching put his system at odds with liberals who accorded the laity a wide freedom of conscience. He himself was a polarizing figure, humble and grandiose, avuncular and ferocious. Opus grew slowly but steadily, remaining below the radar of most Catholics.
That all changed in 1982. Pope John Paul II, also a creative traditionalist interested in labor and faith, granted Esciva's wish that Opus be a "personal prelature", a global quasi-diocese, able in some cases to leapfrog local archbishops and deal directly with Rome. Almost simultaneously the Pope publicly constricted the competing, more liberal Jesuit order. A perception that Opus ecclesiastical power knew no limits peaked with Escriva's 1992 beatification, a brief (for those days) 17 years after his death. Faultfinders,notes allen, claimed that the judging panel had been packed and Esctiva's critics blacballed; they viewed his fast move toward sainthood as the muscle flexing "ecclesiastical equivalent of (the Roman emperor) Caligula making his horse a senator". Allen sees the beatification as legitimate, as did 300,000 people who thronged Rome for Esctiva's 2002 canonization.
DECODING THE SECRETS OF OPUS DEI.
(A guide to some frequently used terms)
ASSOCIATES Membes who follow the most rigorous spiritual practices of Opus Dei life (including celibacy) but donot live in residence or retreat centers.
CILICE A spiked chain that some members strap around their upper thigh for two hours a day as an act of penance.
COOPERATORS Nonmembers who support the group through prayer, volunteer work or financial contributions.
DISCIPLINE A small, cordlike whip that some members use once a week to flagellate themselves during the recitation of a prayer.
FIDELITY The act of pledging a lifetime commitment to the organization.
THE NORMS Spiritual obligations that all members perform daily, inlcuding attending Mass, praying silently for 30 minutes twice a day and reciting the Rosary and other prayers usually after supper.
NUMERARIES The most committed members, who take vows of celibacy, live in Opus Dei centers and practice corporal self-punishment.
NUMERARY ASSISTANTS aA subset of the numerary class composed exclusively of women who perform domestic duties in Opus Dei facilities.
"PAX" AND "IN AETERNUM" The greetings of "Peace" and "In eternity" that members exchange.
SUPERNUMERARIES The less formal category of membership, which allows people to have families and live in their own homes.
THE WORK The shorthand expression referring to "the Work of God", the English translation of Opus Dei.
WHISTLING The act of writing a letter to request membership in Opus Dei, a reference tot the sound of a kettle when it boils.
(Abstracted from:TIMEMAG/reported by reporters from New York, Vatican City, Lima, Washington and Mexico City/ A Special Issue of TIMEMAG/24April'06) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 11:27 AM |
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| Sunday, April 16, 2006 |
| EASTERTIDE: PAINTED EGGS, MARCH HARES AND HOT CROSS BUNS |
For more than fifteen hundred years, the feast of Easter, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ, has been the focal point of springtime for Crhistians around the world. Yet the Easter season is not only a Christian story; but a promised of renewal for all.
The earliest origins of Easter come from an ancient pagan festival celebrated by the Saxons long before the birth of Christ. This festival, held just before the vernal equinox, was in honor of the old German goddess of light, Eostre, to celebrated the death of winter and rebirth of spring.
In the eight century, the poetic name Easter, meaning "New Beginning" was incorporated into Christianity's observance of Christ's resurrection, thereby blending nature's renewal with man's spiritual rebirth.
The most popular Easter symbols -- colored eggs and the Easter bunny -- are secular ones and can be traced back to Eostre's spring festival. On this day, the Teutonic goddess was honored with a feast of eggs, which were the symbol of new life. Farmers would gather wild duck eggs, then given them to their wives to color red -- the Saxon color of good fortune -- with vegetable dyes. After the eggs were colored, they were rolled over the fields so that their contact with the soil would make the earth fertile.
According to legend, Eostre's favorite animal was a large, handsome bird, which in a fit of anger she turned into a hare. This is why each Easter a beautiful hare continues to build a nest to fill with colored eggs.
Chocolate or candy Easter eggs began to appear in teh late 1800s, as did marzipan Easter symbols. In Eastern Europe the decoration of Easter eggs with intricate patterns transformed them into exquisite works of fragile art. Immigrants brought this tradition to America, and during the late 1880s it became a favorite Victorian pastime.
The celebration of Easter in America was introduced by German Protestant immigrants in the mid 1700s, but Easter was not widely celebrated here until after the Civil War, when its them if resurrection and renewed hope could offer the bereaved new meaning during the years of Reconstruction.
(Source: MRS. SHARP'S TRADITIONS by : Sarah Ban Breathnach) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 3:19 AM |
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| Saturday, April 15, 2006 |
| WHO PUT JESUS ON TRIAL? |
IN the 1960s, archeologists made a rather starting discovery. The name Pontius Pilate was found inscribed in the city of Caesarea, the seat of the Roman rule in Judea. It was the first physical confirmation outside of literature that one of the history's most notorious characters existed . Pontius Pilate was governor of the Roman provinces of Judea, Samaria, and Idumaea from 26 to 36 CE and the port city of Caesarea was his base. Most likely as military governor he would have traveled to Jerusalem during Passover week to lead the troop buildup in the city at a time when the city was crowded , anti-Roman sentiment ran high, and insurrection was condiered mor elikely. Pilate seriously offended Jews of the day by bringing Roman shields and falgs into Jerusalem. They contained idolatrous images offensive to the Jews. Aftern 10 years in Judea, Pilate was eventually dsimissed and recalled to Rome after failing to contain the local uprising.
Bit it was Pilate who had ultimate authority over affairs in Jerusalem when Jesus was arrested, and he held the fate of Jesus or any other criminals in his hands. The question of who tried, convicted, and ultimately executed Jesus is more than a historical "parlor game" or religious "bar argument". In fixing the blame for Jesus' execution on the Jewish people as a whole lies the awful seeds of Christian anti-Semitism,or what Peter Gomes in the "The Good Book" terms "Christianity's original sin".
After his arrest in Gethsemane, Jesus was actually tired -- or interrogated -- twice. The first interrogation took place in the house or palace of Jerusalem's high priest, the highest ranking Jewish authority of the day. Another Gospel glitch here, though. Two Gospels don't name this high priest. Matthew calls him Caiaphas. But in John, Jesus is said to be taken first before the high priest named Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Annas had been high priest earlier and then deposed. Annas questions Jesus and then sends him to Caiaphas, the true high priest. In John, there is no account of Jesus being questioned by Caiaphas.
The Jewish council, or Sanhedrin, questioned Jesus on a numer of counts. In Mark, false witnesses are brought against him. While they don't agree on Jesus' specific crimes, they chiefly accuse him of plotting to destroy the Temple. When the high priest asks Jesus point blank , if he is the Messiah, Jesus replies, in Matthew and Luke, "You have said so," and in Mark, "I am"That's enough for the high priest, who decides Jesus has committed "blasphemy", a crime punishable under Jewish Law by stoning. But the actual power of life and death still lay in the hands of Rome's representative. So off they all went to Pontius Pilate for a second trial that conformed with tradition of Roman justice.
The men who brought Jesus to Pilate brought along a laundry lists of charges; Jesus is a subversive. He opposes paying taxes to the emperor -- which was excatly the ooposite of what Jesus had said. He is stirring up resistance to Rome. In all of the Gospels, Pilate is presented as intially reluctant to pass judgement in a case that appears to hin to be a local argument among Jews. In Matthew, Pilate's wife even gells her husband that in a dream she has been told that Jesus is innocent. In Luke, Pilate tries to send Jesus to Herod Antipas, the Jewish ruler of Galilee, but Herod sends Jesus back. Many commentators, Jewish and Christians, have detected an overly "apologetic" tone toward Pilate in the Gospels, shifting the "blame" for Jesus execution to both the Jewish authorities and in a larger sense to the Jewish people. This has been explained by the fact that the Gospel writers, who were confronting Roman persecution, did not want to further alienate the Romans.
This might be purely academic issue if not for the fact that centuries of Christians preaching that Jews were "Christ killers" underline the modern history of anti-Semitism. It was not until 1959 that Pope John XXIII removed the phrase "Perfidious Jews" from the Roman Catholic prayer said on Good Friday, and before his death he composed a prayer asking forgiveness for the church's anti-Semitism, which he called a "second crucifixion". At a Vatican Conference in 1962, teh Catholic chirch officially exonerated most of Jesus' Jewish contemporaries and all subsequent Jews of the vahrge of killing God, or deicide. Perhaps you've heard of closing the abrn door after the horses have run away? But better late than never.
In spite of the Gospel "spin" death sentences, and Pilate's handwashing, the Roman Pilate was ultimately responsible for Jesus execution. He may have been reluctant, not so much out of goodness as disinterest in a Jewish matter. What forced his hand was the threat of politcal pressure from Rome. When Jesus was accused of treachery toward Rome, Pilate could not simply overlook the charge. Doing so would have endangered his own political neck. It is ultimately on this charge of claiming knigship, a direct challenge to the emperor, that Pilate sentenced Jeus to death. Jesus was condemned and executed as a nationalistic freedom fighter who threatened Rome, not for claiming to he the Messiah. And thoug the Gospels report that Pilate turns Jesus over to the Jewish crowd, his execution was clearly carried out by the Roman soldiers., a fact confirmed by Roman historian Tacitus (c.55-117 CE), who wrote in discuaaing the Christians, "Christ, the originator of their name, had been condemned to death by Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius"
This is one of the few references to Jesus death outside the Bible sources.
(Source: DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE BIBLE by: Kenneth C. Davis) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 3:47 AM |
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| Wednesday, April 12, 2006 |
| 1906 - 2006 FIRST CENTENNIAL OF THE FILIPINO DIASPORA/ PINOYS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY |
CATERING TO AMERICA
Harworking, intelligent and friendly, Filipinos are ideal for the restaurant industry.
Busboys, dishwashers ans servers.Bartenders, bakers and cooks.
They're among the unsung thousands of Filipino Americans who have catered to millions of diners for more than a century.
Filipinos have been employed in private homes, the military and in lofty places like the White House (In August, Cristeta Comerford, 42, was named executive chef of the White House, the first woman, first Filipina,and the first ethnic minority to hold the post)
Most of their combined toil in food and beverage creation, presentation and cleanup has been in commercial eateries. From Maine to Guam, Filipinos have worked in all sorts of restaurants in countless cities and towns, resorts and national parks. Their contribution to America's restaurant industry is nothing short of extraordinary.
Filipino presence in America is traceable to at least the late 1700's in southern Louisiana, where "Manilamen" caught and processed a profusion of seafood. That they cooked and served their catch as well is apparent.
"There is still in the oldest portion of the oldest quarter of New Orleans a certain Manila Restaurant hidden away in a court", wrote Lafcadio Hearn, in Harper's Weekly, March 31,1883. Hearn gave no further details.
THE EARLY YEARS
Fast forward to the early 1920s, when the farming industry recruited young Filipinos to meet a need for chap labor. These men, whom later generations would call Manong,(older brother) could immigrate here freely, since the Philippines was then an American possession.
By 1930, thee were more that 45,000 Filipinos in themainland U.S. males far outnumbering females. The overwhelming majority -- about 80 percent -- were agricultural laborers. Of the remainder not in farming, approximately 5,000 had restaurant occupation.
Times were tough. Millions of Americans lost their livelihoods i the Depression. Filipinos took even the lowest-paying kitchen jobs, the dregs. They obtained lifetime jobs via ralatives, townmatesm and friends -- the Kababayan (compatriot) network. They also used employment agencies that specialized in recruiting Filipinos for restaurants but charged exorbitant fees.
For restauranteurs, Filipinos were a rock bottom bargains. It was common for them to get 10 cents an hour as dishwashers or cooks, far less than counterparts white workers received.
By pooling resources, they endured. Filipinos shared transportation, food and living quarters. Six persons may have lived in a single rented room, wroking staagered shifts, taking turns sleeping in the ame beds. Such coping mechanism came naturally, since they hailed from group traditins in the Philippines.
Restaurant Filipinos quickly developed a reputation as ideal employee -- hardworking, smart, reliable, friendly, cooperative and (don't forget) cheap.
Their outstanding work performance was'nt univerally praised, though. It often provoked jealous hostility,which sometimes turned violent. The American Federation of Labor vilified Filipinos for edging out white workers from teh culinary trades. Union membership were unavailable to most restaurant Filipinos.
In 1934 Congress passed the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which established the Philippines as a Commonwealth to be independent by 1944. One motive was to bar Filipinos. As citizens of an independent country, Filipinos would cease to have unrestricted entry into the States.
Congress followed up with the Reparation Act in 1935. This time, the government offered free, one-way transportation for Filipinos to return permanently to the Philippines. The strategy failed. Only slightly more than 2,000 went home for good. Most immigrants could'nt or would'nt leave for various reasons, such as fear of losing face.
Restaurant Filipinos remained in their jobs. Desiring to fit in, they Anglicized their names. Badges on restaurant uniforms identified them as waiter "Tony", cook "Val" or bartender "Frank", instead of Antonio, Valentin or Francisco.
Paradoxically, while Filipinos were valued as workers, they were unwelcome as customers in many restaurants. Enterprising souls, therefore, opened their own modest establishments, often with easily recognizable names like Mabuhay, Manila or Luzon Cafe. Menus featured Philippines and American standards; sinigang( a tart soupy dish) and rice; steak and potatoes.
A Filipino owned restaurant was a haven for homesick kababayans to eat their native dishes and socialize in their home languages.
1940s and WORLD WAR II
The Second World War brought major changes. Filipinos living in America joined the armed forces, and drives fo themw re relegated to mess or gally assignments. The war, too, resulted in increased immigration of Philippine women, facilitated by the War Brides Act of 1945 and the Fiancees Act of 1946. Manongs who were deployed tot he Philippines as military personnel married or got engaged to Filipinas, who followed them back to the States.
THE 1950s
Greater acceptance in America improved the lives of Filipinos. While upward mobility remained limited -- few ascended to reataurant management - Filipinos shared in the postwar boom of the 1950s. As restaurants increased, so did job opportunities.
The world of Filipino Americans changed from a bachelor society to on of families, visible, participating membes of their local communities. Restaurant occupations helped Filipinos assimilate into American society and ensured that their families were well fed.
With steady incomes, restaurant Pinoys were now middle class. Hey could buy homes, cars and creature comforts, perhaps whole still sending money to relatives in the Philippines.
THE 1960s
From the mid-1950s thorugh the early '60s, Filipinos were pioneers in the formation of retaurant branches and chains. A good example was California's Don the Beachcomber, a group of fine restaurants with Polynesian theme.
In the 1960s, the Hilton chain acquired the Beachcomber, then opened several new branches and franchieses in various cities.
The majority of Beachcombers employees were Filipino waiters, busboys and bartenders, who called themselves "the boys". There were a few "girls". Competing Polyneis-inspired restaurants - Traders Vic's, Kon Tiki, Outrigger, Tropicana, Aku-Aku -- all employed Filipinos.
THE 1970s
Most old timer manongs were either retirned or deceased by the 1970s.Meanwhile, new, well-educated Philippine immigrants were arriving. Some ended up in restaurant work, guided there by remaining manongs in the industry.
New Kababayan included ex-Navy personnel. In the '70s more Filipinos were in the U.S. Navy than in the Philippine Navy. A great number of them served in the galleys. Upon discahrged, many Filipino sailors took their skills to restaurants, as their World War II predecessors had done.
(Source: Abstracted from FILIPINAS MAG/by: Ana Marcelo, a free lance writer and historian based in Sacramento, CA) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 1:07 AM |
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| Monday, April 10, 2006 |
| THE IMMIGRATION REFORM |
Missing Part of the Immigration Debate
The deabte over immigration reform has turned into those who say it's time to get real. One side favors building a wall along the Mexican border, and treating peole who sneak in as felons. The other side wants to give those already here a chance to acquire legal status, while making it easier to come under the blessing of the law.
Both sides argue that their approach is the key to stemming the the tide of illegal immigration. And both have a point. On the one hand, stricter monitoring is essential if we hope to gain control of our borders. On the other, since we are not about to deport 12 million undocumented foreginers, we had better find a way to bring them out of the shadows.
But neither approach will work unless we eliminate the main magnet for illegal immigration jobs. Mexicans and other foreigners don't make huge sacrifices to come here because they like the climate in Chicago or the theme parks in Florida. They come to find jobs paying far more than they can make back home.
Considering that so many people have a powerful reason to come, it's a delusion to think that Border Patrol agents or even a 2,000 mile wall can keep them out. Even if we could seal off the entire southern border from people willing to trek across deserts to sneak in, it wouldn't be enough.
About 40 percent of all those who are here illegally didn't come illegally. On a typical day, says Daniel Griswold of the Catto Institute in Washington, "660,000 foreign born people arrived in the United States legally, three quarters of them by land".
Nor will guest worker visas or "earned legalization" reduce the pul;l. These programs do offer foreign job seekers a way to stay without fear of being caught and deported, while gaining the protection of American labor regulations. But as long as many employers are willing to hire people regardless of their status, there will be a supply of illegal workers.
Why would anyone want to hire an illegal worker rather than a legal one? Because they're cheaper and more compliant. As long as unscrupulous employers can get away with it, they will use illegal immigrants to their advantage.
In the old days, it actually was not against the law to hire illegal immigrants. The 1966 immigration measure was the first to impose civil and criminal penalties for anyone who knowingly hire unauthorized workers. Employers were required to demand evidence from each new hire that he or she was entitled to be here. This was supposed to dry up the demands for illegal immigrants.
It was a good theory that was soon punctured by reality. The documents workers hat to provide that was soon punctured by reality. The documents workers had to provide such as birth certificates or naturalization papers, were easy to forge, and employers were not expected to prove their authenticity. So in the end, foreign workers had the same incentives to come here, and employers had the same incentive to hire them.
Nothing will change unless we replace the existing porous barrier with an airtight one. That mneans establishing a counterfeit-proof method for companies to check the status of the workers. The legislation being considered in Congress requires the Deaprtment of Homeland Security to create a mandatory system for verifying each employee's eligibility.
But is it worth it? The American Civil Liberties Union warns that thenew system would lead to a national ID card "linked to a massive government database containing sensitive, personality identifiable information about every resident in the United States" posing a serious threat to individual privacy.
In any case, says the Government Accountability Office, the new system will also cost nearly $12 billion a year. Given the record of DHS so far, it may be prone to errors, causing countless headaches for businesses and workers.
Some state-of-the-art identification program may be needed not just to keep out undocumented workers but foreign terrorists. In the poost Sept 11, 2001, world, we may have little choice but to establish a system by which the government can determine quickly and conclusively who is allowed to be here and who is not.
Whether the benefits of that system outweighs the disadvantages is open to deabte. But without it, any immigration measure will be only an elabotate formula for preserving the status quo.
(Source: CHICTRIB/by: Steve Chapman/ schapman@tribune.com) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 9:41 PM |
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| CENSORS LOSING GRIP ON WIRED CHINESE |
BEIJING -- When "Brokeback Mountain" came to China, government censors balked at a gay cowboy romance and refused to approve the film.
But Chinese movie fans barely noticed. They were too busy watching the film.
Most had picked up a pirated DVD, for about $1, on the street. Others simply downloaded crystal clear copies from Chibese file sharing sites. Still more were posting their praise or criticism on one of the country's racucous Web forum.
China certainly has the most sophisticated censorship regime in the world. And it is utterly outmatched.
The government is adept at curbing expression, sometimes brutally, with prison terms of more than 10 years for unlawful political speech. But understanding China today means looking beyond the confines of mainstream communication - the dutiful newspapers, the censored films, the Google-scrubbed search pages -- to a shadow marketplace of ideas in which Chinese citizens are finding, watching and reading a growing share of what they want.
"Real film fans in China never have any expectation from mvoie theatres. Most movies that show here are rubbish," said Liu Qiwen, a 23 year old movie buff and senior at Nankai University in the industrial city of Tianjin. "I can find almost any movie I like, especially rhe latest ones. Old movies can be a little harder to dig up, but there is always a way."
The debate over free expression in China today centers on revelations that U.S. companies such as Google, Yahoo and Cisco are cooperating with China's govrenment to filter such words as "Democracy" and "Dalai Lama", as well as providing personal e-mail information that autorities use to prosecute citizens.
The companies are mortified that their agreements came to light; under fire from lawmakersm a Google executive told a congressional committee that this company's actions violate "Google's most basic values and commitments."
But amid the attention on all that gets censored, it is easy to lose sight of all that gets through.
The internet, even censored with U.S. corporate help, is fundamentally altering China's one party state. In the span of barely a decade,the Communist Party has lost the monopoly on knowledge. China's ranks of 111 million Web users have grown nearly 20 percent from a year ago.
To keep an eye on them, China has enlisted an estimated 30,000 Web watchers who troll for sensitive Web sites and chat postings to remove. Yet the censor's task has barely begun; 92 percent of China's population has yet to go online. With analysts predicting that China could have 400 million Web users within 10 years -- more than the U.S. population -- authorities face a daunting challenge to keep pace.
Censorship opportunities are getting savvier too. Chinese Web user's whp want to elude China's firewalls can now choose from a range of online services with names such as Freegate and UltraSurf. Though they are difficult to use, the sites funnel Web traffic through third party computers, allowing Web users in China to view sites and send messages that otherwise are blocked.
The information explosion is not only in scale but in form. Today China has an estimated 16 million bloggers - up from just a smattering five years ago - posting about everything from politics and sex to advetising and food.
The Web authorities rarely filter such apolitical discussion. So, as it grows unchecked, it is creating a generation of Chinese who never read the state run People's Daily newspaper but routinely use a file sharing protocol to downpoad films or television programs that their government officially rejects. It is a generation raised to expect a cnesored world and an uncersored one, even when that world is Wisteria Lane.
"Like a lot of 'Desperate Housewives' fans, the only reason we watch the (state) television version is to find how different it is "from the uncut version, said Ye Shannan, 23, a teacher in Shanghai and one of China's fervent new fans of the American television series.
When "Desperate Houseviews" debuted on Chinese television in December, it was a short, sanitized version of itself; censors had snipped out sex and violence, toend down references to bodily functions and dubbed it in Mandarin. It drew lousy ratings. State media quickly explained, as the China Daily nmewspaper put it, that the show bombed because its characters were "too far removed from ordinary Chinese, even the burgeoning middle class".
But online, something else was happening. Fans who had downloaded the uncut version, or paid about $17 for a full season's worth of pirated DVDs, quickly found each other. They formed forums and blogs to swap gossip and commentary. Viewers in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere huddled over plot twists and American slang. They advised each other where to cyberspace to find the best digitized version of the show.
For viewers like Ye, obtaining what once was out of reach has become mundance.
"For young people like me, you don't need to worry", she said. "We can basically find all the programs that we want".
(Source:CHICTRIB by: Evan Osnos/eosnos@tribune.com) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 2:56 AM |
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| Wednesday, April 05, 2006 |
| 1906 - 2006 FIRST CENTENNIAL OF THE FILIPINO DIASPORA/ THE SAGA OF THE FILIPINO SEAMEN |
WHILE the filipino nationality of the first person to circumnavigate the globe, Ferdinand Magellan's interpreter, Enrique de Mallaca, is subject to debate, there is no doubt that Filipino seafarers have been at the vanguard of the Diaspora, going back to the Galleon Trade, from 1565 to 1815.
According to journalist Floro Mercene, who has done a lot of research on Filipino presence in the New World, "some 60,000 Filipinos sailed on the galleon from Manila to Acapulco over two-and-a-halg centuries" as crewmen.
Mercene conjectures that "one of every five members of the crew was a Filipino native, but some historians claim it went as hihg as 50 to 80 percent Filipinos".
In a letter to the King of Spain in 1765, Spanish explorer Leandro de Viana wrote: "There is not an Indio in those islands who has not a remarkable inclination for the sea, nor is there at present in all the world a people more agile in maneuvers on shipboard or who learn so quickly nautical terms and whatever a good mariner ought to know."
In the February 25, 1889 issue of La Solidaridad, Graciano Lopez Jaena reported:"In a town near Barcelona live quite a number of Filipino sailors. I also know that in almost all the ports of England, France and America, particularly in New York and Philadelphia, there are many Filipino sailors".
Just as the Spaniards conscripted natives of Las Islans Filipinas for the galleons, the U.S. Navy actively recruited young Filipino males as stewards and mess boys soon after America took over the Philipines from Spain. The book, Filipino American LIves, by Yen Le Espiritu, points out that in 1901, President William McKinley issued General Order No. 40 allowing the U.S. Navy to rectruit up to 500 Filipino for the Naval Insular Force. By World War I, there were some 6,000 Pinoys in the U.S. Navy.
IN his column "Reveille" (Philippine Daily Inquirer), retired General and former customs commissioner Ramon Farolan wrote: "Under the Rp-US Military Bases Agreement of 1947, only the U.S. Navy was allowed to recruit Filipinos for its armed forces and during the Korean War, the Navy annually took in up to 2,000 Filipinos, ages 18 to 24. By 1970, there were close to 17,000 Filipinos in the U.S. Navy. Someone mentioned that there were probably more Filipinos in the U.S. Navy that in the Philippine Navy.
Farolan further wrote: " For many of our young men, a career in the U.S. Navy was a life-long dream. In a number of communities (and in many families) particuarly those close to the U.S. bases (Clark, Subic and Sangley Point), joining the U.S. Navy had become a tradition as well as a badge of distinction. These installations exposed the local people to American wealth, culture and standards of living, generating strong incentive for enlistment. In particular, the monetary incentive for joining was exceptional - the salary of a raw recruit was alot higher than many in the towns and villages where they came from. There was also the opportunity to ain permanent residency in the United States and with that, eventual citizenship."
Filipino naval personnle were assigned mainly to menial chores, as domestics cooks and valets of officers, with little prospect of promotionl. However, that changed over time, as the story of Rear Admiral Eleanor "Connie" Mariano illustrates.
The daugher of a U.S. Navy steward Mariano became a medical doctor and then joined the U.S. Navy in 1981, after getting a degree from the Uniformed Services University of Bethesda, Maryland. She was eventually appointed chief physician at teh White House during the incumbency of President's George H. Bush and Bill Clinton. The latter promoted her to star rank, making her the highest-ranking person of Filipno descent in the U.S. Navy.
Speaking at the 4th national conference of the National Federation of Filipino American Association in Las Vegas in 2000, Mariano quipped that her facther could only enter the officers' quarters through the kitchen, but because of him, "I now walk through the front door of the White House".
Today, based on available date, the Philippines is considetred the highest source of seamen in the world, with a quarter of a million Filipinos employed in ocean-going ships or an estimated 20 percent of total working seafarers in international vessels. About half work in luxury cruise ships as hotel and restaurant crew.
The Philippines Deaprtment of Labor has a different set of figures: "180,000 Filipino seamen or 28.5 percent of the toral maritime population of 632,000 are working worldwide. Russia is second with 7.3 percent."
The saga of the Filipino seamen will continue to be a significant chapter in the history of the Filipino Diaspora.
(Source: FILIPINASMAG by: GBM) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 9:56 PM |
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| HISTORY OF HIPHOP |
BACK IN THE DAY, when rap is its infancy, it was restricted to street corners and neighborhood block parties. Now, with the announcement that the venerated, venerable Smithsonian Institution has started piecing together a permanent hip-hop display ("Hip-Hop Won't Stop: The Beat, the Rhymes, the Life"), the genre has reached yet another level of cultural acceptance.
Hip-Hop pioneers would be amazed at the strides rap has made in just three decades, moving from basement experimentation to top 40 dominance to Hollywood acceptance.
The breatkthrough started on the radio and swung into high gear with the advent of MTV.
Rap, more than any other form of music, paints a cultural picture that, while not always pretty (NWA, Nas) opens listeners eyes to a different worldview. This is why Chuch D. Public Enemy's bombastic frontman, often labels rap "the CNN for black people." There's a truth in the music that is often not expressed anywhere else.
Of course, as with any burgeonne scene, quick expansion often comes with a downside. As rap has moved into the mainstream, it has embraced its comercial status with arms (and wallets) wide open.
And as the U.S. scene experiences growing pains, rap has exploded globally. Browsing the Internet one can listen to artists rhyme in evey conceivable language.
(ctc-arts@tribune.com)
1970 - DJ Kool Herc begins.
1975 - Kool Herc pairs with emcess Coke La Rock and Clark Kent to form the first rap crew.
1978 - The term "rap" is coined by the music industry.
1979 - Sugarhill Gang releases the first rap hit, "Rapper's Delight", which climbs to No. 36 on the Billboard charts.
1980 - Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" is rap's first gold single, Blow becomes the first rapper to appear on national television on "Soul Train". Lady B records the first solo female hip-hop song with "To the Beat Y'all",.
Blonde releases "Rapture", the first rap song by a white artist. It climbs all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and grab a new audience for the genre.
1981 - ABC's 20/20 features the first national story on the RAP PHENOMENON.
1982 - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five release "The Message", considered the first politically charged rap song.
1984 - Los Angeles KDAY becomes the first rap-only radio station in the United States. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin form Def Jam recordings.
1985 - Kurtis Blow films a commercial for Sprite.
1986 - Run-DMC releases "Walk This Way" and "My Adidas", "Walk This Way" revives Aerosmith's flagging popularity and introduces Run-DMC to a new audience., while "My Adidas" marks the rise of rap as a commercial force.
1987 - Public Enemy debuts with "Yo! Bum Rush The Show".
Salt N Pepa, the first female rap group of consequence, releases "Push It".
1988 - Yo! MTV Raps first airs. NWA'S "Straight Outta Compton" goes gold despite numerous protests and an FBI investigation into its incendiary lyrics.
1989 - In PUerto Rico, the first Spanish language rapper, Vico C. helps create what is later termed reggation.
1990 - MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" becomes the biggest rap to hit to date.
Vanilla Ice's "To The Extreme" sells more than 7 million copies and spawns a thousand latenight jokes as the karaoke favorite "Ice Ice Baby"
"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," starring raper Will Smith, premiers on NBC.
School D appears on the talk show "Donahue" to discuss "Money and Rap Music".
1991 - NWA releases "Efil4zaggin," which becomes the first hard core rap album to hit no. 1 on the charts.
1993 - The soundtrack for "Judgement Night" pairs rockers and rappers (Slayer/Ice-T and Pearl Jam/Cypress Hill, among others).
1996 - Tupac Shakur is shot and killed.
1997 - Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. the Notorius B.I.G. is shot and killed.
1999 - Lauryn Hill is nominated for a record 10 Grammys, She wins five, including album of the year, a first for rap.
Eminem releases the triple-platinum, "Slim Shady LP."
2000 - Dr. Dre like Metallica, sues the song downloading service Napster, affirming that rap has attained the same commercial status as guitar rock.
2003 - OutKast's "Speakersboxxxx/The Love Below" wins the album of the year Grammy. The single "Hey Ya!" becomes omnipresent.
Ex-President Bill Clinton shares the stage with Ginuwine and Outkast's Big Boi at a Democratic National Committe fundraiser.
2004 - Flava Flaw appears on the third season of VH1's "The Surreal Life" and begins a bizarre courtship with Brigette Nielsen.
2005 - Hip-hoppers, most notably Kanye "George Bush dones'nt care about black people" West, put voices to the suffering of thousands after Hurricane Katrina ravages New Orleans.
2006 - Three 6 Mafia's "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from the film "Hustle and Flow", wins best-song Oscar.
(Source: CHICTRIBSPECIAL/by: Andy Downing) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 2:45 PM |
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| APRIL FOOLS DAY/ APRIL FIRST |
APRIL FIRST
The Day of Dignity
THOSE BORN ON APRIL 1 are usually straightforward, self-disciplined, thoughtful and hard working people. Although they maybe masters of their craft, they rarely if ever flaunt their talents. Even as children they manifest a serious, consciencious attitude toward daily life, shouldering many responsibilities that other children would fin a burden. As they grow, they develop into reliable figures who friends and family can depend on year in and year out.
Although the star quality of an April 1 person is underniable, they donot seek the limelight early in life. It is not being the center of attention which is important to them, but being at the center of what is happening. All they really want is to get on with their work, Indeed, their fixation on the work is pronounced and they are likely to be certified workaholics at various times in their lives. Many born on this day impress others as being shy, even withdrawn. In fact, they are not overly sociable people, unless sociability is required by their profession.
The subleties of technique can become a mana for an April 1 person. They are interested in mastering every aspect of what they do; to ask others for help would only be an embarrassment for them. Super capable, they usually learn their craft on their own, outside of school. Attending classes can make them itchy; many born on this day can't wait to leve school in order to begin their self educative process. Able to learn from experience and observe the methods of those they admire, they soon develop a style which is uniquely their own.
Though April 1 people are capable of originality, their work is rarely highly daring or unusual but more likely to be conservative and measured. Often those born on this day have a passion for history, for studyin how things were done before and why they did nor did not succeed. It is not their own success that concern them, rather the success of their projects and endeavors.
The drive is very strong on April 1 people to bring mattes of concern to a satisfactory conclusion. Thus they will finish a project no matter how much energy is required or how great the sacrifice. April 1 people donot depend on others to provide pleasure for them, and do not surround themselves with friends or admirers. Others sometimes feel sorry for April 1 people, thinking them solitary, isolated or lonely, but in fact those born on this day are qquite happy living on their own and functioning autonomously. April 1 may have a problem of demanding too much from themselves -- thus they must avoid taking on too many projects at one time. The only recreation attractive to these disciplined individuals is often itself a hobby, which they pursue wuth such zeal that others may mistake it for work.
PEOPLE BORN ON APRIL 1
ABRAHAM MASLOW, psychiatrist, humanistic psychology founder, writer, Psychology of Personality.
Sir William Harvey, British physician, discovered blood circulation.
Clara McBride Hale, founder Hale House, home and treatment center for infants of drug addicted mothers.
Sergei Rachmaninoff, composer, pianist.
Lon Chaney, silent film actor, original Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Toshiro Mifune, Japanese film actor.
Edmond Rostand, writer, Cyrano de Bergerac.
Otto von Bismarck, German prime minister.
Debbie Reynolds, film actress.
Ali McGraw, film actress.
(Soure: Abstracted from the book: THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF BIRTHDAYS by: Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 2:41 AM |
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| SCARIEST PART OF 911 TAPES IS WHAT YOU DON'T HEAR |
"THIS is Verizon Operator 2764. We have a hundred people trapped on the 105th floor of the One Wolrd Trade Center" - From the Sept 11,2001, emergency calls released late last week.
They're talking to dead people.
All of the 911 operators and New York City Fire department dispatches heard on those emergency calls are speaking with individuals who will never make it out of those buildings, never set foot on the pavement of lower Manhattan, never see their loved ones again.
The tapes were made public as the result of a lawsuit filed by the New York Times and some of the family members of those killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
It took four years for the case to wind its way through the courts. Finally the tapes have been released -- but the callers voices have been delected on grounds of privacy. Only family members can hear the calls in their entirety.
Everyone else hears just the operators. It might be even more chilling that way; it's as if the operators are talking to ghosts-in-waiting.
CALLER : (Deleted)
OPERATOR: "I understand that, sir. I understand that. All right. We're trying to get to people as fast as we can."
CALLER:(Deleted)
OPERATOR: Sir, I don't know the World Trade Center like the back of my hand. I really don't."
I sifted through hundreds of pages of transcripts and listened to excerpts.
"OK, if you feel your life is in danger, do what you must do".(OPERATOR, to a DISPATCHER) "I have a person on the 100th floor. They're waving like a towel. It's on the northwest corner of the building of the One World Trade Center ....and the female caller said it's the west tower, if that makes any sense to you ....."
OPERATOR: "LIke you said, the stairs are collapsed. OK? Put the wet towels under your head and lie down. OK? I know it's hard to breathe...."
It's heartbreaking, It's frustrating. It's devastating.
There are times when the operators and dispatchers are clearly in the dark as to the magnitude of what's happening. At one point there's talk about a helicopter flying into one of the towers. In another conversation, an operator doubts the towers could collapse because they're so "Strong".
"Are they still standing?" one operator says to another.
"The World Trade Center is there, right?"
"Someone said they collapsed," comes the reply.
Often the operators struggle to maintain their composure. You hear "Oh ,God"
and "Poor Babies", and "I pray it's not true".
"Yeah, because they're buildings, big buildings,and they don't think. They don't think. How could you have a big building and no way to get out of it? That's ridiculous. Anyway, if you had like a chute like you just slide down, that way people don't have to walk down and more people can get out. Just slide down the chute and you're out the door. That's what they should have. But you can't tell the rich people around here. Have a good day."
Hindsights is 20/20
Sadly, maddeningly, long after top fires and police commanders on the scene gave teh orders for everyone to evacuate the buildings, operators were following the standard procedure in high rise fires, which is to advise callers on floors below the spot of the initial fire to wait for help.
A New York Times account of one conversation details a man's gorwing desperation as he's trapped in the 88th floor offices of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. As he's transferred from department to department, he's told repeatedly not tomove.
"You cannot (attempt to leave) You have to wait until somebody comes there... I can't tell you to do that, sir....I can't tell you to move ... I need you to stay in the office. Don't go into the hallway. They are coming upstairs. They are coming."
It's not the fault of the dispatchers. They were going by the bppk. They did'nt hae the information they should have had, because New York's communications system weas lacking in the "communications" part of the equation. At that time, the city had no way for field commanders to update operators on the 911 system, which seems insance in retrospect.
"Fire above," says an operator.
"They want to know if they should evacuate."
The dispatcher responds:
"I believe they should remain where they are."
(Source: Abstracted from the column of CHICSUNTIMES Richard Roeper) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 1:58 AM |
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| Monday, April 03, 2006 |
| FAMOUS MEN WERE KNOWN BY THEIR MOTHERS' MAIDEN NAMES |
1. Charlton Charlton (Heston)
2. Buster Cutler (Keaton)
3. Bill Dwire (Clinton)
4. Paul Fetzer (Newman)
5. Frank Garaventi (Sinatra)
6. Johnny Hook (Carson)
7. Orson Ives (Welles)
8. Arnold Jedrny (Schwarzenegger)
9. Sylvester Labofish (Stallone)
10.Anthony Oaxaca (Quinn)
11.Michael Scruse (Jackson)
12.Mick Scutts (Jagger)
13.Mike Smith (Tyson)
14.Rip Spacek (Torn)
15.Perry Travaglini (Como)
16.Martin Luther Williams (King)
17.Bruce Zirilli (Springsteen)
18.Zuchowski (Liberace)
(Source: Book of Lists by:A.Wallechinsky and A.Wallace) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 4:03 AM |
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| Saturday, April 01, 2006 |
| A MISTAKE-MAKER'S QUIZ |
No matter how smart you are, you have probably made most of the mistakes described in this quiz at one time or another. But it's also very likely that you will find some mistakes cause you more trouble than others. The following quiz can help you.
Rate your reaction to the following fifty statements on a scale of zero to 4, with zero representing the least relevance to your life and 4 representing the most relevance to your life. Put an X in one block after each statement. Scoring directions will be found at the end of he quiz.
Think of the numbers in this way:
0 means: There is no time in my life when this statement would apply to me.
1 means: There have been rare instances when I have felt this way.
2 means: I sometimes feel like this.
3 means: I frequently feel like this.
4 means: I feel this statement applies to me most of the time.
1.) I overreact to minor problems.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
2.) Others accuse me of making mountains out of a molehills.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
3.) I am pretty excitable.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
4.) There's no point in trying because I know that nothing will work.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
5.) I know in advance that things will go wrong.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
6.) I can tell what others are thinking.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
7.) People who are close to you should know what you want.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
8.) You can always tell what people are thinking from their body language.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
9.) When people spend time together, they become attuned to each other's thoughts.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
10.) I've been upset about what I thought someone was thinking -- then found I was wrong.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
11.) It's my responsibility to keep my loved ones happy.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
12.) When things go wrong, I always feel it's my fault.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
13.) I find I am criticized more than other people.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
14.) You can tell when people are attacking you -- they don't have to be specific or mention your name.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
15.) I feel I've been unfairly blamed for things that are beyond my control.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
16.) I get into trouble because of overconfidence.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
17.) My confidence in myself seems to put people off.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
18.) I feel that if you are successful in one thing, you can be equally successful in anything.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
19.) Other people have been responsible for my failures.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
20.) Once you achieve success, you can relax because momemtum keeps you at the same level.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
21.) People have a way of honing in on the areas where I am most sensitive to criticism.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
22.) I have a sixth sense about criticism, I can always tell when people mean me.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
23.) Negative comments from others can really hurt me, even make me feel depressed.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
24.) I hear negative comments and dismiss compliments.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
25.) I think all comments have about equal weight.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
26.) I get upset if I leave something unfinished.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
27.) Being considered "just average" or "one of the crowd" is an insult.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
28.) I'd rather turn in no work at all rather than turn work that is below the standard I have set for myself.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
29.)26.) It's important to me that others see me as someone who never devitates from impeaccable standards.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
30.) Even a small mistake is enough to ruin my day -- or my life.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
31.) Compared to others, I am a loser.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
32.) I'm very competitive.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
33.) Hearing about the success of others upsets me.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
34.) Not being where I ought to be now gets me down.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
35.) I think you have to make comparisons with others if you want to be successful.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
36.) The world is a very dangerous place.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
37.) You have to be very careful about what you can do and say if you don't want to get into trouble.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
38.) I don't like to take chances.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
39.) I've lost some opportunities because I wasn't willing to take a risk.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
40.) I avoid doing things if I think I should have done in the past.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
41.) I fell gulty about something I should have done in the past.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
42.) I believe it's important to live by the rules.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
43.) When I look at the past I see more failure that success.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
44.) I feel under pressure to do the right thing.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
45.) I find myself overwhelmed by all the things I need to do.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
46.) The opinions of others don't matter to me.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
47.) People accuse me of not listening to them.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
48.) I feel defensive when people ask -- or tell -- me to do something.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
49.) I think things should be done my way or no way.
0_____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
50.) I tend to procrastinate. I even put off doing important things.
0____ 1____ 2____ 3____ 4____.
HOW TO SCORE YOUR ANSWERS:
Look at the pattern of X's you have drawn. If you find that, next to every statements, you have marked only those boxes numbers 0 or 1, then you have very little difficulty with these mistakes -- and probably very little difficulty in dealing with the challenges of your life.
However, most people will find that they have marked a 2 or above to at least some of the questions. When that is that case, you may very werll find a cluster of X's in the higher numbers. Those clusters provide a clue to the particular mistakes of thinking that are most troublemsome to you.
(Source: THE TEN DUMBEST MISTAKES SMART PEOPLE MAKE AND HOW TO AVOID THEM by: Dr. Arthur Freeman & Rose DeWolf) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 12:12 AM |
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| About Me |
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Name: infraternam meam
Home: Chicago, United States
About Me: I am now at the prime of my life
and have been married for the past 25 years.
Sickly at times, but wants to see the elixir vita,
so that I will be able to see my grandchildren from my two boys.
See my complete profile
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