MaribuBot, of articial intelligence (she’s my hardworking, intelligent Bot), on her own, without any prompting from me, gathered these news stories on human strife, conflict, and art based on web metrics:
ξ Parties need not be marginalized to run as partylists. “xxx The SC decision states that partylist groups need not be “marginalized or underrepresented” to run in the partylist elections.xxx Majority of the 54 previously disqualified partylists might be allowed to run again in the May 13 midterm elections under the new guidelines issued by the Supreme Court (SC), Commission on Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said on Friday.” inquirer
ξ “Brillantes on party-list ruling: I don’t like it” rappler
∩ “4 die in Batangas accident” tempo.
♠ “US, Philippine troops start war games amid China tensions” by Cecil Morella, Agence France Presse thru Yahoo Philippines
ν “Caravan vs 2013 Balikatan military exercises ongoing” “Progressive groups are hounding the 2013 joint US-RP military exercises, which begins today, to protest the continuous assault on the country’s sovereignty, the human rights violations resulting from it and the toxic wastes it leaves behind.” Bulatlat
ÿ “The known unknowns of Kim Jong-un” xxx “As far as personal tastes go, his apparent affection for amusement parks and Disney characters sits oddly with his position as supreme commander of the world’s fifth-largest army with an emerging nuclear arsenal.xxx” by Giles Hewitt, Agence France-Presse thru ABS-CBN
ÿ ” Statement of support for the Korean people against US provocations and nuclear threats”xxx “We condemn in the strongest terms the continuing US military control over South Korea, the constant nuclear weapons in US military bases and aircraft carriers and the joint military exercises of the US and the South Korean puppet government. All these violate the national sovereignty of the Korean people, threaten the DPRK and run counter to the desire of the Korean people for peaceful reunification.” by Jose Maria Sison thru Bulatlat
∩ “Comelec plans to ban motorcades on 18 major Metro Manila roads” inquirer
Λ “Basic wins 3 geothermal energy contracts” inquirer
♥ “Cash prizes, scholarships for Palaro winners” rappler
♥ “Art Spark: A Guide to the Philippine Art World” Inflight thru Yahoo Philippines
1.Floods submerge houses of 6,100 families in Butuan
2.PNoy calls on Sultan to stand down
3.USS Guardian being chopped up
4.Greenpeace pickets Comelec in costume
and these stories all appear above the fold (above the fold should be in quotes), i disagreed with the algorithm of the robot and put them above the fold (or at first glance on the screen).
This blog here has been using the word sultan although the news organizations have now started to use the family name instead in their headlines. Technically, you’d put the word sultan in quotes because our laws do not confer royal titles; I have never put them in quotes out of respect for the cultural heritage and tradition which I consider part of our own Philippine heritage and tradition and not just of one region/ ethnicity/ religion, etc.
Pres. PNoy mentioned the inciting-to-war provision of the Revised Penal Code in his statement when he called on the followers of the Sultan to stand down, although in the later news casts, the sound byte was on the Constitution, declaration of principles… Well let me wait for them to file a complaint for inciting to war against the Sultan and his followers — that should be a sight. As to the declaration of principles… anobur; declaration-of-principles na kaso ba iyon… I’ll wait for them to file a case before typin’ up sumthin’ ,
I’ve tried to be more balanced by including more news sites from the regions from North to South – you’d be surprised that I found only two “regional” news organizations on twitter tweeting news daily (i’ve put the word “regional” in quotes because the internet has made it possible for the “community newspapers” to have a worldwide reach thru daily or hourly tweets of the reports if this could be done).
Then, to rend a little the hegemony of the American press (geez, I’ve promised never to use that word “hegemony” – but there it is), I have Moscow Times, Sudan News (it appeared in an earlier edition, the algorithm takes care of the foreign news), the Community to Protect Journalists, Global Voices (citizen journalists), Channel News Asia, Al Jazeera, etc.
In the masthead, it says “What’s Trending”, but a couple of the stories are not “What’s Trending” because there’s an effort to include the underreported regions/ areas/ topics.
Well, I also have vegetarianism, yoga, chi running, a bit of celebrityhood etc etc. – there’s a story there for you! Happy reading!
