A First Hand Account of the Seige in Beirut

The following is a first hand account of a young Filipino-American woman who happened to be in Beirut when the attacks started. Some things have changed since then. The death toll has gone up.
Her uncle is a friend of mine who told me of her story last weekend over a few drinks. I reprint it with her permission. The experience, as well as the impressions and opinions expressed below are hers. I post this because it may be of interest to some of you and not because I am expressing any of my own opnions about the situation.
I have my opinions about what’s happening but do not feel the need to express them now. (More)

(Taken from http://www.rickycarandang.com - Ricky Carandang Reporting)

Some thoughts on SONA 2006

What an... interesting SONA.

The President appeared to be in an upbeat mood... and was probably a little bit too excited for her SONA, as she stepped up to give her speech even before the singing of the National Anthem. Whoops. I expect several Protocol Officers to get a really good tongue lashing later, as well this little incident getting blown totally out of proportion by the media and her enemies. More

Let's start the Grand Debate on Constitutional Reform

As promised, CLL has posted some related articles on Constitutional Reform to start up the GRAND DEBATE on whether the Philippines should shift to Parliamentary-Federal System or continue with Presidential-Unitary System.

The first batch of articles was taken from different website sources written by respected personalities and groups advocating and opposing constitutional reform.

Enjoy reading, start thinking!

CLL - Constitutional Reform Blog

A Boost for Cha-Cha from Spain?

By Domini M. Torrevillas

Many other Lands Revising Charters

By Jarius Bondoc

What People don’t know about the Proposed Cha-Cha

By One Voice

Liberalism and Federalism

By Ronald Meinardus and Gerhard Raichle

We are also encouraging you to join us in this online debate and see what is better for our country. How far can we go? Let’s see…

Eric Caliboso
ecaliboso81.blogspot.com

SONA. .. What's in a Name?

The State of the Nation Address

· Derived from the State of the Union Address of the President of the United States

· First delivered during the Commonwealth Period by Pres. MLQ, 1935 during the Opening of the First Session of the 1st National Assembly.

More on J. Malaya Blog

Putting a Price on Learning

To say that the modern public puts a premium on education is to state the truly obvious. It seems hard to imagine a world with high levels of ignorance and illiteracy.

Especially with the advent of the “Information Age,” one’s education determines the options that one has in life. A good life and a successful career are usually linked to the quality and level of one’s education; mavericks like Bill Gates and the Tai Pans – who never finished or took up a college education – of Southeast Asia are usually exceptions rather than the rule when it comes to accomplishment. So for most people, even a high school diploma is usually the key to a better future. More

SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION IS REAL

Reports say, our generation is highly engage to sexual practices, especially when curiosity among the young arises. Probably, many of these sexually active individuals are enjoying in whatever sense it is. But that does not mean they can not be attacked by sexual disorders, with a simple thought that it is just normal. And you might be one of them. And admit or not, you might be suffering from it. More

Wretched

Camila can hardly wait another year to finish her undergraduate degree program in a state-run university. She stopped going to school for six months to work as a full-time customer service representative in a call center. Both her parents were laid out from work so she had no other choice but to find a job and earn big money. She has plans to go abroad and settle with her family there eventually. More

Express yourself via CLL blog

CLL blog is up and ready for your articles & comments.

We are encouraging all members of the liberal family to take an active part in this blog by submitting your article to cll.liberal@gmail.com or by leaving your comments to the posted articles.

Of course when we say liberal family it includes members of the following groups;

Liberal Party (LP)
Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas (KALIPI)
LP Ladies
Liberal Caucus of Congressional Staff (LCCS)
Liberal Professionals
National Institute for Policy Studies (NIPS)

Parliamentary Caucus
Liberal Local Leagislators League (4L)
Caucus of Local Chief Executives

Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (FNSt)
Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD)
Liberal International (LI)
Young Liberal and Democrats of Asia (YLDA)
International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY)

The blog is also open for all liberal-minded individuals, professionals, politicians, members of the academe, students, and all individuals who would like to join us in our discussions on various issues of the country.

As of today this blog contains CLL background, objectives, services offered and the following departments: Politics, Election and Governance; Economy, Globalization and Development; Education; Health; Environment; and Human Rights. For more information, please explore this blog.

Lets make this blog interactive. Find some time to put your opinions in writing and discuss it with us - the Filipino Liberals. Lets do it in liberal ways- DISCUSSION and DEBATE.

Eric Caliboso/ Donna Babadilla