Also carried on my blog, Chat Noir, at http://dateline.ph/?p=11780

If there is one thing that the ongoing legislative investigation into complaints of fraud during the nation's first automated elections has taught me so far, it is this: Most of our legislators are not worth the tax money we are paying to fund their salaries.

It has been a long time since I have visited Maguindanao and my last visit there over a decade ago was not a pleasant one. In the summer of 1995, when I was last there, I was a newbie reporter who hadn't had the foresight to bring packed food of any sort. There I met a man named Bong Reblando, who was a provincial journalist working as a correspondent for the Manila Bulletin.

Poets call Death a thief in the night. I am a journalist and I call Disease a thief who attacks in broad daylight.

I am watching as Disease steals my friend, Henry Abiog, from me by installment. Henry is a lawyer who works for the Department of Agriculture, a caring only son of only children. He always has a smile and a joke ready for me on the days when I would rage at the world. Now, he is stricken with an ailment that has shut both his kidneys down and has been undergoing thrice-weekly dialysis so he can live long enough to receive a kidney transplant.

Waiting for Neil Gaiman’s press conference to start is half-killing me. Me working hard to look like the 16-year veteran journalist I am and not showing my fan-girl eagerness is completing the process.

My heart is jack-hammering my chest as I watch him walk into the room, his hair a mop of unruly curls that just won’t sit still – a carelessly casual cap calling my fingers to stray from their studied and dignified position on my laptop keyboard. My eyes are steady, studiedly shuttered to the other journalists positioned around me.

Alma Anonas-Carpio, for her new blog, Chat Noir, on Dateline Philippines
http://dateline.ph/chatnoir/

Cyberspace is a great place to share all the things you want the world to know and it is the place where your light may shine brightly and uniquely, but there are aspects yo your uniqueness that are best kept offline. Over the years, several antivirus software-makers have warned of identity theft and its consequences, yet netizens still blithely post sensitive personal data – such as their full birthdates – on websites like the social networking giant known as Facebook.

By Alma Anonas-Carpio, for SpyBiz magloid

If one were to look at conspiracy theories, the Ampatuan Massacre - so called because it took place in a town called Ampatuan, not because of the powerful warlord clan that is supected of ordering it - is but the first of a string of innovative destabilization attempts that are designed to help the powers that be hold on to their power.

By Alma Anonas-Carpio

19 of my brother (and sister) journalists were slain in what is now called the Maguindanao massacre on Nov. 23. I will not forget who and what died that day.

Now come the condemnations
When we lie bloodied and mutilated,
Staining the crabgrass red
With a rage of silence.

Our eyes stare into the bluest sky
With no one to shut them against the flies
That gather and feast upon our flesh.
We lie here, awaiting
The shock of discovery,

Battered and broken,

Top News
Written by Alma Anonas-Carpio / Correspondent
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 21:14

THE Philippines has been selected as the primary voice hub of the United Kingdom-based business-process outsourcing (BPO) firm Northgate Arinso (NGA) because NGA’s clientele are “comfortable with the service from the Philippines.”

Written by Alma Anonas-Carpio / Correspondent
Monday, 26 October 2009 18:48

NETSUITE opened up new employment opportunities by doubling its work force in Manila, NetSuite chief executive officer Zach Nelson said. He also announced that the company will offer cloud computing business management software over the iPhone to Filipino users.

Written by Alma Anonas-Carpio / Correspondent
Friday, 23 October 2009 01:11

Hewlett-Packard has unveiled the industry’s first complete consumer lineup of touch-enabled printers powered with HP’s new TouchSmart user interface.

This touchscreen technology makes it easier for consumers to conveniently display, edit and print photos as well as copy, scan and print documents. The HP Photosmart All-in-One printers with TouchSmart technology are also designed to push HP’s “print leadership and commitment to innovation in the consumer segment,” company executives said.